EC Says Priyanka Gandhi, Himanta Sarma’s Speeches in Violation of Code of Conduct, Issues Show Cause Notices
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (EC) has issued show cause notices to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and found their speeches in poll-bound Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, respectively, in violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
The Congress had also demanded action against Union home minister Amit Shah, however, no show cause notice has been issued to him yet.
The notices come a day after the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) both knocked on the EC’s door alleging poll code violations by each other.
The BJP in its memorandum to the EC submitted on Wednesday (October 25) cited Gandhi-Vadra’s speech at a public rally in Dausa, Rajasthan, on October 20, in which she had said that she saw on television that an envelope carrying a donation made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Devnarayan Temple contained Rs 21. She said that she saw it on television and could not say whether it was true or not.
“This statement of Smt. Priyanka Gandhi has violated the very basic foundation of free & fair elections by invoking the personal religious devotion of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi,” the BJP memorandum said.
She compared the alleged donation to other developments in the country, claiming that while several declarations are made on stage during elections, all such promises are later found to be jumlas.
In its notice to Gandhi-Vadra, the EC has said that her speech was in violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Therefore, she has been asked to respond to the poll body by 5 pm on October 30.
Meanwhile, the Congress memorandum to the EC, also submitted on Wednesday, listed seven charges against the BJP.
The party demanded action against Sarma for his speech in Chhattisgarh on October 18 for “clear cut intention to incite sections of society against one another.”
"If one Akbar comes to one place, then he calls another hundred Akbars, don't forget this. This is why as early as possible you need to bid farewell to that Akbar, otherwise Ma Kashaulya's land will become unholy,” Sarma said.
The EC in its show cause notice to Sarma has said that his speech has been found to be in violation of the Model Code of Conduct and the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
He has also been asked to respond to the poll body by 5 pm on October 30.
While the Congress had also demanded action against Shah in its memorandum, no notice has been issued yet.
In its memorandum, the Congress referred to Shah’s speech in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon on October 16, in which he accused the Congress government of orchestrating the killing of Bhuneshwar Sahu, who was killed in communal violence in Biranpur village in April. Sahu’s father Ishwar has been fielded as a candidate by the BJP.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said that the EC had acted on the Congress’s complaint on Sarma’s “obnoxious hate speech.”
“We hope that the ECI will follow through and take this case to its logical conclusion. Politicians, especially those holding constitutional positions, cannot and should not be allowed to get away with such blatant violations of the Model Code of Conduct. It is the only way to stop the poisoning of our public discourse and protect the sanctity of our elections and democracy itself,” he said.
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