Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Congress on Sunday (January 26, 2025) accused the BJP of trying to “divide society and influence voters” by promoting a film based on the 2020 north-east Delhi riots, which is set to release three days ahead of the February 5 Assembly election.

Addressing a press conference, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Manu Singhvi urged the Election Commission of India (EC) to take immediate action to prevent the release of ‘2020 Delhi’.

He said the EC should follow the precedence set during the 2019 general election when the commission stalled the release of a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The trailer of ‘2020 Delhi’ was released earlier last week.

Mr. Singhvi called the film “a directly focussed, distorted, debased narrative against a particular religious community and a brazen attempt to disturb public tranquillity”.

“Why do you release a film like this two days before the election? What is the purpose of its coincidental clash? This has become a new technique of the BJP during elections,” he added.

He also claimed that Mr. Modi’s proposed visit to the Maha Kumbh on the day of the election “is not a coincidence”.

“The Prime Minister is welcome at the Maha Kumbh. But you think it is a coincidence that he wants to go there on that day itself?” said the Rajya Sabha member.

‘AAP appears hopeless’

Mr. Singhvi said that AAP is “staring at defeat”, and accused the ruling party in Delhi of issuing an advertisement against Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, dubbing them “traitors” while branding itself as “clean”.

“This kind of abusive, debasing political discourse and culture must be condemned. Such kind of defamatory advertisements or statements must be immediately policed and taken down by the EC,” said Mr. Singhvi.

He said, “We all know that the electoral window and political window is very short and, therefore, prompt action is the need of the hour”.

“Is this your [AAP’s] only formula to achieve victory in the Delhi Assembly election? Resorting to such tactics shows AAP’s helplessness and hopelessness,” added the Rajya Sabha member.