The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday pulled up Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for violating the Model Code of Conduct and advised him to be more circumspect in his public utterances during election campaigns. It also issued a notice to BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for his “khooni panja” remark.
In conveying its displeasure to Rahul, the EC said it was not satisfied with the Gandhi scion’s reply justifying reference to the BJP as a party that engineered riots.
Referring to two of his election campaign speeches at Churu and Indore, the EC had asked him to explain the “unverified” allegations which amounted to violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
In its order, the EC said: “The commission considers that the aforesaid portions of your speeches were not in consonance with the letter and spirit of the Model Code of Conduct which prohibits any speeches or statements which may tend to aggravate differences between religious communities and which also prohibits criticism of other political parties on the basis of unverified allegations.”
In one of the speeches, Rahul alleged that following the recent riots in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, Pakistan’s ISI established touch with several Muslim youths who had lost their family members in the violence. The BJP had alleged that the claims were unsubstantiated and a danger to the unity and tranquility of the country.
Rahul told the EC that the emphasis in his speeches was on “maintenance and promotion of communal harmony and unity” and was not made with the intention to create hatred or tension between different communities.
However, the EC rejected this explanation and took serious exception to the tone, tenor and content of the speeches. Stopping short of admonishing or issuing a warning, the EC “advised” Rahul to be more circumspect in future public utterances during election campaigns and conveyed “displeasure” over the remarks.
In a separate development, the EC initiated action against Narendra Modi for his election speech referring to the Congress’ symbol as “khooni panja.” The complaint was filed by the Congress, which had pointed to Modi’s election speech at Rajnandgaon on November 7.
The Congress also mounted a fresh attack on Modi by filing another complaint to the EC against his charge that the Indian Mujahideen and CBI were being used by the Centre to fight the BJP.