The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday banned Bihar BJP leader Giriraj Singh from campaigning in Bihar and Jharkhand for his recent controversial remarks even as the BJP and the Congress traded charges on alleged “hate” speeches and petitioned the commission against each other.
At the same time, AAP leader Shazia Ilmi has landed in a controversy for a purported “communal” speech delivered by her earlier this month while campaigning in Mumbai.“Muslims are very secular. Muslims ought to be more communal. (They) do not vote for their own. (AAP leader) Arvind Kejriwal is your own. I say, it is enough of secularism,” Ilmi, who contested the lok Sabha polls from Ghaziabad earlier in the month, is seen saying in a video.
“Here (you are) helping the Congress win, there someone else. Please do not be so secular. Muslims are secular. They will continue to vote for others. Other parties don’t do such things,” she said.It is a short 1.19 minute video clip, apparently a sting operation, where Ilmi is seen talking to Muslims. The video, believed to be shot in Mumbai, where she had gone to campaign for AAP’s South Mumbai candidate Meera Sanyal, shows Ilmi talking with her head covered with a dupatta. Mumbai goes to polls on April 24.
Meanwhile, the EC has served a show-cause notice to Giriraj, who is the second leader after Samajwadi Party’s Azam Khan to be banned from campaigning. Khan faced EC action for his comments that Muslim soldiers won the 1999 Kargil War for India.
The day saw the BJP and Congress taking the “hate speech” issue to the Election Commission’s door. While a BJP delegation met the EC and urged it to take action against those using abusive language against Modi, the Congress requested the election watchdog to register an FIR and immediately arrest “elements” of the Sangh Parivar for use of threat and abusive language against its leaders. The Congress also released a CD of the hate speeches by the BJP and VHP leaders.
Taking a serious exception to Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma’s “diabolical” and “false” accusations against Modi, the BJP asked the EC to restrain him from entering Uttar Pradesh “till the polls are over.”
In a memorandum submitted to Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath, the BJP delegation led by the party’s vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told the commission that there was a need to impose restraint on Verma, who is deliberately prejudicing the minds of voters against Modi.
BJP, Cong lay hate speeches on EC door
The party had earlier demanded an apology from Verma over his “murderer” remark against Modi and also for reportedly dubbing him a “history-sheeter” as-well-as a repeat offender during his poll campaign.
“Yesterday, the way Kapil Sibal made allegations in his Press conference, it is violation of the Model Code of Conduct. He made baseless allegations against Modi and Amit Shah. Similarly, Verma has also violated the Model Code of Conduct. We have drawn the EC’s attention to it and sought strict action against Verma, Sibal and other leaders who have flouted rules,” Naqvi said after meeting the EC on Tuesday.
For its part, demanding an apology from Modi, the Congress requested the commission to register an FIR against Amit Shah, Giriraj Singh, besides Togadia and Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam for the “hate speeches” they have been making across the country.
AICC spokesperson Randeep Surjewala released a CD of hate speeches by these leaders and urged the EC to ensure their immediate arrest.The EC is in the process of examining the video footage of controversial statements of Togadia. On Giriraj, the EC asked the Chief Secretaries of Bihar and Jharkhand to investigate the FIRs against him quickly and bring it to a logical conclusion.
The BJP also reminded the commission of the UPA Government’s continued attempt to fill in key posts during the poll process. The BJP said subsequent to the party’s memorandum to the EC on April 19, it was understood that the Government was “seriously working to fill up the posts of Secretary, DST (Dept of Science and Technology) and DG, CSIR before this month end through direct recruitment. These should also be stopped,” it said.
Giriraj, a lok Sabha BJP candidate from Nawada, kicked up a row when he said all those opposed to BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi should go to Pakistan as they have no place in India.BJP spokesperson Meenakshi lekhi said: “The top leadership of BJP has clarified repeatedly and we are making a further clarification that BJP will focus on the agenda of good governance and development.”