In a first, the Election Commission of India has issued a notice for violation of the Model Code of Conduct on the basis of complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, taking a circuitous route, the notice was sent on Thursday to BJP President J.P. Nadda, and not to Mr. Modi.
In fact, the notice does not mention the name of the Prime Minister at all.
The complaints attached to the notice, however, are those of the Congress against Mr. Modi's "malicious election speech delivered at Banswara (Rajasthan)”,
Along with complaints from other parties, such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
The Prime Minister, while speaking at a rally in Rajasthan's Banswara on Sunday, said in Hindi:
"Pehle jab inki sarkar thi, inhone kaha tha ki desh ki sampatti pe pehla adhikaar Musalmaanon ka hain. Iska matlab, yeh sampatti ekatthi karke kisko baatengey? Jinke zyaada bacchein unko baatengey. Gusphetiyon ko baatengey"
The Prime Minister said Congress would conduct a survey and they would not even let Mangalsutra remain with women and "will go to this extent."
A similar notice was served on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, concerning complaints related both to him and party leader Rahul Gandhi.
The poll body sought responses from both parties by 11 a.m. on April 29.
UNPRECEDENTED Notice
ECI officials said this is the first time in recent history that the panel has taken cognisance of a complaint against a Prime Minister.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the ECI had given a clean chit to Mr. Modi on complaints lodged by the Opposition parties.
Then-Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa had submitted a dissent note on some of the decisions taken by the ECI regarding complaints against the Prime Minister.
What is also unprecedented is the ECI issuing Thursday's notices to the respective party presidents instead of directly to the concerned individuals,
Since the beginning of this poll season, the Commission has issued showcause notices to Congress leader Supriya Shrinate, BJP MP from West Bengal Dilip Ghosh, Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, and Bharat Rashtra Samithi chief K. Chandrashekar Rao.
In all these cases, however, notices were directly addressed to each of the individuals against whom complaints were filed.
What EC Said in it's Notics ?
EC invoked section 77 of the Representation of the People Act and held party presidents responsible, as first step, to reign in star campaigners.
In its notice to the BJP president, the ECI asked Mr. Nadda to bring to the notice of all star campaigners of the party to “set high standards of political discourse and observe provisions of model code of conduct in letter and spirit”.
The Commission said it has taken a view that while individual star campaigners will continue to remain responsible for speeches made by them,
The Commission will address party chiefs "on a case-to-case basis”.
Campaign speeches made by those holding high positions have more serious consequences, the poll panel said.
Why Notice to Rahul Gandhi ?
The ECI attached the complaints filed by the BJP to the notice sent to Mr. Kharge.
They alleged that he and Mr. Gandhi had violated the MCC during a speech in Kottayam on April 18 by making "false allegations" against the PM,
Claiming that Mr. Modi had advocated for ‘one nation, one language, and one religion'.
The notice also said that Mr. Kharge, in comments made to a publication,
Had said that President Droupadi Murmu was not invited to the Ram Temple consecration ceremony because she is a member of a Scheduled Tribe.
This notice too did not name either of the individual leaders.
Congress Attacks EC
The Congress, however, questioned the identical language used by the EC regarding the complaints against Mr. Modi and Mr. Gandhi.
"Is this what the EC means by a 'level playing field'?” Mr. Ramesh asked in a subsequent post on X.
"They [ The ECI ] are super, super cautious when it comes to the Prime Minister, they are super cautious when it comes to the Home Minister, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh told reporters.
"There had been no complaint against (former PMs) P.V. Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh. This is the second time we have complained against the PM.
We had earlier complained about the Home Minister [Amit Shah], but no action was taken. Action was taken against the Assam Chief Minister," he added.
What if a Party or Candidate Violates MCC ?
The MCC does not have legal enforceability on its own.
Nevertheless, specific provisions within it may find enforcement through corresponding clauses in other statutes, including the Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973, and the Representation of the People Act of 1951.
Additionally, the ECI holds authority under paragraph 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order of 1968 to suspend or withdraw a party's recognition.
The first phase of the seven phase Lok Sabha elections concluded on April 19.
The second phase of polls will get underway on April 26.
The other phases are scheduled for May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
Results of all the 543 Lok Sabha seats will be announced on June 4.
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