Amidst an unprecedented occurrence, the Election Commission, for the maiden time, acknowledged a complaint regarding a breach of the model code against a premier figure, directing its gaze towards BJP leader J P Nadda in response to the Opposition’s assertion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a speech fraught with divisiveness in Rajasthan’s Banswara.
Concurrently, the electoral watchdog dispatched a notification to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, summoning his rebuttal to grievances lodged by the BJP against him and the principal opposition figure Rahul Gandhi concerning their verbal expressions.
In the missive dispatched to Nadda, the Election Commission solicited his retort by Monday to the grievances filed by the Congress, CPI, CPI (ML), and civic organizations regarding Modi’s utterances on April 21 in Banswara. These contentions referenced Modi’s assertions implying that the Congress harbored intentions to redistribute the populace’s wealth to Muslims and that the opposition faction would not even spare the ‘mangalsutra’ of women.
The discourse ignited a significant political imbroglio, with the Congress and other opposing entities accusing the premier of propagating falsehoods, while the BJP countered with allegations of the Congress nurturing a pro-Muslim agenda at the expense of marginalized segments of society.
Additionally, the EC enjoined Nadda to apprise all prominent campaigners of the party to “uphold elevated benchmarks of political dialogue and adhere to the provisions of the model code of conduct scrupulously.” The electoral panel further emphasized that campaign rhetoric articulated by individuals occupying esteemed positions bears weighty implications.
Officials elucidated that it marks the first instance where the panel has taken cognizance of a plaint against any premier figure. During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the EC exonerated Modi of complaints lodged by opposing factions. At that time, Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa issued a dissenting memorandum on certain decisions taken by the EC regarding grievances against the premier.
The EC invoked clauses of the Representation of the People Act to hold party heads accountable as the initial measure to regulate prominent campaigners. According to the electoral panel, it has adopted the stance that while individual prominent campaigners remain liable for their verbal expressions, the Commission will address party leaders “on a case-to-case basis.”
By doing so, the EC has imposed an “augmented stratum” of accountability on party leaders, expounded the functionaries. Recently, Kharge was called upon to elucidate statements made by two members of his party concerning women. The electoral authority issued a notice worded similarly to the Congress president regarding allegations leveled against him and Gandhi by the BJP.
The notices dispatched to the two party chiefs refrained from directly citing either Modi, Gandhi, or Kharge, yet the representations received were appended to the respective communiqués, elucidating allegations against the trio. Conversely, the BJP communicated to the EC that Gandhi had leveled malevolent and utterly sinister accusations against Modi during a speech in Kottayam, Kerala, where he alleged that the premier was advocating for one nation, one language, one religion.
The BJP asserted that in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Gandhi insinuated that the premier was assailing “our language, history, and tradition.” Furthermore, it accused Kharge of contravening the model code by asserting that he was excluded from the Ram temple consecration ceremony due to discrimination against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.