BJP disowns "Har, Har Modi"

Responding to Dwarka Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati’s criticism that the slogan “Har, Har Modi” was an insult to Lord Shiva, the BJP clarified that the slogan—a modified version of “Har, Har Mahadev”—was not endorsed by the party.
In a statement, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said the BJP’s slogan was “Ab ki bar, Modi sarkar” and media reports suggesting that “Har, Har Modi” was a party motto were incorrect.
In a bid to quell the controversy that the BJP was looking to exploit a religious slogan for political purposes, Narendra Modi also tweeted that while he respected the enthusiasm of supporters raising the “Har, Har Modi” slogan, he would request them not to do so in future.
The Dwarka Shankaracharya, who is a guru to Congress leader Digvijay Singh, said he had protested to Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat about the use of a religious incantation for “vyakti puja (worship of an individual)”.
The Shankaracharya’s intervention follows criticism of the slogan by local Congress leaders like Ajay Rai who also said the poll cry was an insult to Lord Shiva and religious sentiments.
According to the Shankaracharya, the RSS chief said the slogan shouting was due to over enthusiastic supporters and that the Sangh did not promote individualism.
The view in the BJP was that the slogan was kicking up an unnecessary controversy as it was being seen as an attempt at religious mobilization in the backdrop of Modi’s decision to contest from Varanasi. The Hindutva strains to Modi’s campaign are understated so far though he made it a point to visit the famous Sankatmochan and Kashi Vishwanath temples ahead of his Vijayshankanath rally in the temple city on December 20 last year.