EC Directs BJP And Congress President To Send Formal Notices To Star Campaigners
The Election Commission of India has directed the BJP President JP Nadda and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with reference to the Model Code of Conduct complaints against the star campaigners. The EC”s unprecedented order to BJP and Congress party came due to the plummeting quality of the campaigns by star campaigners.
The poll body has urged the BJP and Congress to refrain from campaigning along caste, community, language and religious lines and asserted that the nation’s socio-cultural fabric should not be compromised during elections.
This new directive has come nearly after one month the Election Commission has issued a notice to the BJP President JP Nadda. The notice was sent following the complaint filed against Prime Minister Narendra Modi”s divisive speech in Rajasthan’s Banswara.
The poll body dismissed Nadda’s defence and asked all the star campaigners to avoid religious and communal rhetoric in their campaigns.
The EC also noted that the “party in power” holds extra responsibility during the election times. The BJP has been specifically warned against using religious and communal overtones in their campaign speeches.
The EC has also demanded an immediate halt to any rhetoric that could potentially divide the society along communal lines. Similarly, the Commission has also warned the Congress and cautioned to ensure that its star campaigners do not make statements that could create false impressions.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s assertion that the Opposition bloc once elected will abolish the Agni veer scheme, the poll body instructed the grand old party to refrain themselves from politicizing armed forces.
The Mode of Conduct, under which general elections are held in India, states, “No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic.”
So far India has voted in five out of seven phases. The sixth and seventh phase will be held on May 25 and June 1 respectively. The results will be announced on June 4.
