Congress Delegation Meets Election Commission, Seeks Action Against Amit Shah, Himanta Biswa Sarma
A delegation of senior Congress leaders met with the Chief Election Commissioner and his companion Election Commissioners on Wednesday. The delegation presented detailed complaints and factual memoranda against Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in relation to the upcoming state elections in Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh.
Congress complained to the Election Commission against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s election speech in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon on October 16 in which he claimed that, “….Bhupesh Baghel’s Government for appeasement politics, and vote bank politics, lynched Chhattisgarh’s son Bhuneshwar Sahoo and got him killed…” and subsequently sought votes by stating, “Bharatiya Janata Party has pledged that we will bring justice to Bhuvneshwar Sahoo’s killers and in his honour, we are fielding his father Shri. Ishwar Sahoo as a candidate in the elections.”
According to the grand old party, these statements and claims are in blatant and deliberate acts in violation of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Representation of People Act, 1951.
Complaint against Himanta Biswa Sarma was in regard to an election speech in Chhattisgarh’s Kawardha on October 18. Mr Sarma while campaigning against the Congress candidate, Mohd Akbar, claimed that, “If one Akbar comes to some place, he calls 100 Akbars. So, send him off as soon as possible, otherwise the land of Mata Kaushalya will get defiled..” and subsequent raised allegations on the Bhupesh Baghel by stating that, “Today, the tribals of Chhattisgarh, who are dear to us, are being encouraged to convert their religion on a daily basis. And when someone raises their voice against it, Bhupesh Baghel ji says ‘we are secular’. Is beating up Hindus your secularism? This country is a country of the Hindus and will belong to Hindus. Do not teach us secularism, we do not need to learn secularism from you,”
“These statements and claims highlight the clear cut intention to incite sections of society against one another,” Congress said in the complaint.
The Congress leaders have also bring to the notice of the Election Commission about the union government’s orders directing Civil Servants and Indian Army Soldiers to promote achievements of BJP led Union Government. “These acts of politicising the conduct of Civil Servants and Army Soldiers violating the Model Code of Conduct and the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964,” it said.
Congress also sought disqualification of Govind Singh Rajput, BJP Candidate from Surkhi, Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh from contesting the present assembly elections. Mr. Rajput had publicly claimed that he would pay Rs. 25 Lakhs to the prabharis of booths where the maximum number of votes would be casted for the BJP. A FIR has already been registered against Govind Singh Rajput.
The Congress delegation included Jairam Ramesh, MP (Rajya Sabha) and AICC General Secretary Incharge Communications; Salman Khurshid, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India; Manikrao Thakre, AICC State In-Charge for State of Telangana; Revanth Reddy, Member of Parliament and President Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee; Uttam Kumar Reddy, Member of Parliament and Bhatti Vikramarka, MLA and CLP Leader, Telangana Legislative Assembly.
