EC notice to BJP on PM Narendra Modi’s Rajasthan rally; Rahul Gandhi puts Congress in trouble too

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 25

Days after the Congress and Left parties complained to the Election Commission that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at Rajasthan’s Banswara on April 21 had “violated” the model code of conduct (MCC), the poll body sent a notice to BJP president JP Nadda, seeking the party’s response on the issue by April 29.

Separately, the poll panel also sent a notice to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, seeking the party’s response within the same deadline over its leader Rahul Gandhi’s purported remarks during a rally in Kerala. The BJP had complained against Rahul’s remarks, alleging violation of the MCC guidelines.

In its letter to the BJP president, the EC said star campaigners were expected to contribute to a “higher quality of discourse”.

The EC directed Nadda to inform all star campaigners in his party to set high standards of political discourse and observe provisions of model code of conduct in letter and spirit. It asked him to respond by 11 am on April 29 to the complaints raised by the Congress, CPI and the CPI (ML).

Considering that the Prime Minister as well as Rahul Gandhi are star campaigners of their respective parties, the notices were not issued to them directly.

The opposition parties’ complaints had referred to Modi’s allegations that the Congress wanted to redistribute the wealth of the people to Muslims and that the opposition party wouldn’t spare even the ‘mangalsutra’ of women.

The speech led to a major political slugfest with the Congress and other opposition parties accusing the PM of making false claims and the BJP alleging that the Congress was nursing an agenda of Muslim appeasement at the cost of weaker sections of society. In its letter to Congress chief Kharge, the ECI directed him to convey the same message to the party’s star campaigners about the quality of discourse expected of them.

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