A poster depicting Rahul Gandhi as Ram shooting arrows at Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Ravana appeared in the city Friday ahead of a rally of the Congress president here.

While the BJP took exception to the poster, the Madhya Pradesh Congress distanced itself from it.

The poster was put up by Bhopal district Youth Congress president Rohit Rajoriya and others on Chetak Bridge here.

Showing Rahul as Ram and Modi as demon king Ravana of the epic Ramayana, it also carried a slogan: "choro tumhari khair nahi, hum Ram bhakt hain, choron ke alawa kisise bair nahi" (Thieves, you will not be spared. We are devotees of Ram. We don't have enmity with anyone other than thieves)."

Rahul Gandhi, while alleging corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal, has often used the slogan "Chowkidar Chor Hai" to target the prime minister.

A state Congress spokesperson, however, said the party did not approve of such posters.

"The poster was put up by some over-enthusiastic party workers. We respect the PM. We are not in favour of portraying any leader as Ravana. This is not our culture. It is up to the people to decide who is Ravana," Congress spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said.

Taking objection to the poster, state BJP spokesperson Rahul Kothari said, "It is objectionable and shameful to portray a person holding a constitutional post in such a way. It would have been better if Rahul Gandhi had been shown as Ravana for making baseless allegations to save his family from corruption charges."

Modi did not want to be portrayed as Ram or Krishna but only as a servant of the people, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)