Communal literature at PM’s rally in Goa?

Controversies surrounding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s election rally in Goa two days ago simply refuse to die.

Election officials said they have asked police and other agencies to probe complaints that communal literature was distributed to the several thousand attendees and scattered around the venue at Sanquelim, 40 km from here on Wednesday.

The Congress has launched its own investigation into the glitch-ridden rally after an audio snag midway into Manmohan Singh’s speech led to a nearly half hour delay.

Now, the election office has received a complaint that communal literature was distributed at the rally.

Joint chief electoral officer Narayan Navti told reporters that copies of the literature published in a special supplement of a weekly newspaper had been sent to police and the Election Commission for their inputs.

“The complainant has claimed the content was communal in nature,” Navti said.

Thousands of copies of the special supplement, which asked people not to vote for the “communal opposition”, was littered around the Sanquelim government college ground and handed to nearly every member of the rally,

The prime minister’s speech was the last major election rally organised by the Congress ahead of assembly elections Saturday.