Election Commission Issues Notices, Seeks Responses from BJP, Congress on Alleged MCC Breaches by Rahul Gandhi, PM Modi

The Election Commission on Thursday has taken action following allegations of Model Code violations by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Notices have been issued to both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, seeking responses from their respective presidents, JP Nadda and Mallikarjun Kharge, by 11 am on Monday, April 29. The move comes after the two parties traded accusations regarding comments made during rallies and speeches.

In a statement released by the Election Commission, it emphasized the role of "star campaigners" such as Prime Minister Modi and Rahul Gandhi in maintaining a higher quality of discourse during election campaigns. The commission highlighted the importance of ensuring that political discourse remains constructive and does not deteriorate amidst the heat of local electoral contests.

During a rally in Banswara, Rajasthan, Prime Minister Modi had allegedly said, "The Congress manifesto says they will calculate the gold with mothers and sisters, and then distribute that property." He further added, "They will distribute it to whom - Manmohan Singh's government had said that Muslims have the first right on the country's assets."

Rahul Gandhi, allegedly making comments in Kerala's Kottayam, was quoted as saying, "If a daughter graduates from a university, her parents congratulate in Malayalam. When a brother loses the other brother, he communicates in Malayalam. Thus, Kerala is Malayalam, Malayalam is Kerala." He allegedly added, "I hear PM giving speeches where he says one nation, one language, and one religion. How can you tell people of Tamil to not speak Tamil, people of Kerala to not speak Malayalam?"

The Election Commission appeared to delegate responsibility for maintaining this standard of discourse to the political parties themselves. It indicated that parties, particularly national ones, are expected to set high standards of compliance with the Model Code of Conduct, particularly in the conduct of their candidates and star campaigners. The poll body's move comes in the wake of its earlier warning to politicians to avoid crossing the "red line" during campaigning, which includes refraining from misleading advertisements and personal attacks against opponents.

While the BJP is yet to respond to the Election Commission's notice, Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh criticized the poll panel's approach, suggesting a discrepancy in its treatment of different political figures.