The Election Commission has issued notices to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for violating the code of conduct. The commission has sought a response by 11 a.m. on April 29.
Allegations of hate speech and divisive comments against Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi were submitted to the commission. The Congress, CPI and CPI(ML) leveled the allegations against Modi. And the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) complained against Rahul.
In response to this, the commission issued a notice to the two parties on Thursday. However, this notice has been sent to BJP All India President JP Nadda and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. No name of Modi or Rahul Gandhi is mentioned in this notice.
In the two-page notice, the Election Commission said, “High-quality speeches are expected from star campaigners, but many a times they come down to low levels in the heat of elections.” In this regard, BJP’s JP Nadda and Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge have been asked to take umbrage at the behavior and comments of their star campaigners.
Prime Minister Modi was recently making controversial comments in Rajasthan’s Banshwara. He alleged that if the Congress comes to power, it will take away the gold of mothers and sisters, the mangalsutra of the throat and distribute it among the Muslim community who give birth to more children.
Not only that, the Congress is in favor of giving priority to Muslims over the country’s wealth, Modi claimed. He also called Muslims ‘infiltrators’ while complaining.
Modi’s comments targeting a particular community were not only divisive, but he was accused of giving hate speech. Opposition parties, including the Congress, complained to the Election Commission.
On the other hand, Modi’s party BJP complained to the Election Commission that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s speeches in public meetings in Kottayam, Kerala or Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, were defamatory to the Prime Minister and contrary to election code of conduct.
Rahul Gandhi said in his speech, “I am surprised when I hear the Prime Minister give a speech, where he says one nation, one country, one language, one leader and one religion. But how can you say Tamil people can’t speak Tamil, Kerala people can’t speak Malayalam. Every Indian language is as important as any other language. BJP does it through language, place, caste and religion. Whenever they get a chance, they divide the country.”
Voting for the first phase of India’s Lok Sabha elections has already ended. The second phase of voting will begin on Friday, April 26. This Lok Sabha election is being held in seven phases. It will last for about two months. Voting will end on June 1. The results of the polls will be announced on June 4.
