After a reprimand from the Election Commission, the BJP has replaced the name Pappu (a term used as a swipe at Rahul Gandhi) with Yuvraj in Gujarat election campaign advertisement in the electronic media.
The development comes after the Election Commission barred the ruling BJP in Gujarat from using the word 'pappu' in an electronic advertisement, calling it "derogatory". Earlier, the BJP, in its defence, had said that the script of the advertisement did not refer to any individual.
Sources in the BJP said the script of the advertisement did not link the word to any individual. The media committee under Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) BB Swain objected to the word mentioned in the script of the advertisement that was submitted by the party for approval last month.
"Before making any election-related advertisement, we have to submit a script to the committee to get a certificate. However, they raised an objection to the word 'Pappu,' saying it is derogatory. They asked us to remove or replace it," a senior BJP leader said.