New Delhi: New Delhi: The Election Commission of India Thursday issued a show-cause notice to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over remarks he made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in poll-bound Rajasthan earlier this week.
At a campaign rally, Gandhi had called Modi a “panauti” or bad omen — implying that India lost the ICC World Cup to Australia because of the prime minister’s presence in the stadium.
He also labelled Modi a “jaibkatra” or pickpocket, according to the EC notice.
In its notice to the MP, the poll body referred to the BJP’s complaint on 22 November against these remarks. It said: “It is alleged that comparing a Prime Minister to a ‘Jaibkatra’ (pick pocket) and using the word ‘Panauti’ is unbecoming of a very senior leader of the National Political Party.”
The commission also mentioned the BJP’s counter-charge to Gandhi’s accusation that Modi had waived loans of Rs 14 lakh crore, allegedly racked up by the country’s billionaires.
The poll body’s notice read: “… the allegation of grant of waivers of Rs 14,00,000 crore for the past 9 years, is asserted by the BJP, as not borne out on facts. Furthermore, they (Gandhi’s comments) are allegedly in violation of Section 123 (4) of the R. P. Act, Section 171G, 504, 505 (2), and 499 of IPC and provisions of Model Code of Conduct.”
In its notice Thursday, the poll body drew Gandhi’s attention to the rules of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), which says: “Criticism of other parties or their workers based on unverified allegations or distortion shall be avoided.”
The poll body also highlighted a Supreme Court judgment which said that if the freedom of speech and expression was protected by the Constitution, “the right to reputation was also considered to be an inextricable part of the right to life… and balancing these two rights is a constitutional necessity.”
Addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Balotra Tuesday, Gandhi said Modi “comes on TV and says ‘Hindu-Muslim’ and sometimes goes to a cricket match. It is a different matter that the match was lost. Panauti.”
“PM means Panauti Modi,” he added.
Gandhi’s remark came two days after India lost the World Cup final to Australia, which Modi watched at the stadium in the final hours.
At the same rally, the Congress leader also accused Modi of waiving Rs 14 lakh crore in loans to billionaires in the past nine years.
At another meeting, Gandhi said Modi distracted people with topics like “demonetisation and GST” while Gautam Adani “picked their pockets from behind”.
Gandhi’s remarks angered BJP leaders and Union ministers, with Rajeev Chandrasekhar calling the comments “a sign of desperation and mental instability”.
“There is more than irony or hypocrisy at work here — a man who has never worked a day in his life, whose family has exploited the country like parasites for decades with their corruption and whose government destroyed the country economically in the lost decade,” Chandrasekhar said Wednesday.
The Election Commission has demanded a reply from Gandhi by 6 pm on 25 November. “You are requested to provide your explanation, on the allegation made and to show causes as to why action as deemed fit for alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct and relevant penal provisions is not initiated by the Commission,” its notice read.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Panauti’ legitimises superstition. Just accept the better team won that day