By IANS
Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) : A poster depicting Congress party president Sonia Gandhi as goddess Durga has angered Hindu groups, who have termed it "derogatory".
The poster, adorning a wall at the district Congress committee office here, shows Sonia as goddess Durga with her multiple arms. In Hindu mythology Durga is considered the destroyer of evil. The poster has been in the office since the state assembly elections earlier this year.
Ajay Soni, the local Congress unit chief, said in clarification: "Actually, it was a sample offered by a local artist for an election poster, but because of the guidelines issued by the Election Commission, we did not go ahead with it."
"The poster is the very sample left behind by the artist," he added.
However, Hindu groups like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) are seeing red. "This is derogatory to the most widely worshipped Hindu goddess and we will not sit quiet," declared Vinod Agarwal, a prominent VHP leader here.
He even threatened to take the protest to a high pitch. "If Muslims can raise violent protests against sketching of a cartoon on their Prophet, how can we sit silent on such blasphemy," he asked.