The Election Commission has expressed “displeasure” over Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s remarks asking voters to accept bribe while campaigning for Maharashtra Assembly polls.
In its order issued on Saturday, the Commission said, “Irrespective of whatever intentions you might have had, such statements clearly bring disrepute to the purity of our elections as well as the integrity of the democratic process.” It asked Gadkari to be “more circumspect” in his future public utterances.
Gadkari had earlier responded to EC by stating that the entire tenor of the speech was to denigrate any attempt to allure or induce voters through any unlawful means. “This was done by me through humour and sarcasm…I would urge you to consider carefully the humorous tone in which I spoke,” Gadkari said.He urged the EC to interpret his statements in this light as he “never uttered a word” that could be construed as a violation of the model code.