Modi aide's remark sparks row, Congress, AAP seek arrest

She dragged Congress chief Sonia Gandhi into the controversy over her appeal to the Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, and said the attempt to polarise the election was initiated by the "so-called secular" party.

BJP vice president and prominent Muslim leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, meanwhile, said the Uttar Pradesh government "has insulted the people there".

"It is not a question of Hindus and Muslims. Those who went there for secular tourism, they have insulted the people. Instead of putting balm on the wounds of the victims, they sprinkled salt. Revenge should be taken for this insult," he said.

BJP president Rajnath Singh said the party was not contesting the election on a communal plank, and instead blamed the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.

"It's the Congress, SP and BSP that are trying to play the communal card. We have never played the communal card nor would we," Rajnath Singh said.