The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday indicated that it would not impose any blanket ban on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann ki Baat radio programme after leaders of Janata Dal (U), RJD and Congress met the EC and asked for a ban on the programme claiming it violated the “Model Code of Conduct” (MCC) in force in Bihar owing to the Assembly polls.
A delegation of the three-party alliance submitted a memorandum to the EC which said, “Permitting the Prime Minister to air the ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme would be giving a completely unfair advantage to the BJP and will upset the level playing field, essential to uphold the neutrality and majesty of the electoral process.”
Talking to reporters later, AICC spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, who was part of the delegation, said, “The ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme on September 20 is a gross violation of the MCC. In order to influence the voters, the Prime Minister is misusing the Government-run mass-media namely All India Radio (AIR), Doordarshan and other channels which broadcast and telecast the programme.”
RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha said that Modi is the face of the BJP in Bihar elections and the party’s key campaigner. Going by past experience when Modi converted his Hindi Divas function speech into a political speech, Jha said that the alliance believes that Modi can go to any extent. “Nobody should be allowed to use the public exchequer for the benefit of any political party. You cannot have a level
playing field by using Government machinery during polls,” he added.
Though the EC is yet to officially respond to the petition, senior officials in the EC indicated that a “blanket ban” cannot be imposed on airing of a programme unless there is material to show that its content is likely to violate the MCC.
“There can be no blanket ban on a Cabinet meeting or even Mann ki Baat but the EC can take cognizance if the content of the programme is in violation of the MCC,” said a senior EC official.
Reacting to the day’s development, BJP Secretary Shrikant Sharma described the move by the anti-BJP alliance as “childish”. He said that a similar demand was made by the Congress during the previous Assembly polls in Haryana that was rejected by the EC. “They are in frustration. They can see the writing on the wall that their defeat is certain in Bihar. The elections are being fought on the agenda of development while Nitish Kumar, lalu Prasad and Congress have nothing to show to the people. They are desperate,” Sharma said.