Stage set for polling in crucial UP by-elections tomorrow
A total of 34 lakh voters will decide the fate of 90 candidates contesting the bypolls from nine assembly constituencies.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has kicked up another controversy with his remarks on ‘Akbar’ in poll-bound Chhattisgarh’s Kawardha constituency, even as the Election Commission sent him a notice following a complaint by the Congress.
The remarks were made by Sarma during an election campaign against Congress candidate Mohammad Akbar in Kawardha on October 18.
The Election Commission (EC), in its notice, has asked the BJP leader to respond to the same by 5 pm on October 30.
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“If one Akbar comes to one place, do not forget that they call hundred Akbars. Therefore, bid farewell to Akbar as soon as possible, otherwise this land of Mother Kaushalya will be defiled,” Sarma said, according to the EC notice.
Kaushalya, the mother of Lord Ram, is believed to hail from what is modern-day Chhattisgarh.
Responding to the poll panel notice against him, the Assam chief minister said, “The Congress failed to disclose a crucial piece of information to the Election Commission that Mohammed Akbar is their candidate from the Kawardha constituency.
“Therefore, offering legitimate criticism of a candidate should not be misconstrued as promoting communal politics. Congress will be held accountable for withholding this critical fact in their representation. I have full confidence in the wisdom of the Election Commission,” he said.
The Congress had complained to the poll panel that Sarma’s remarks aimed at stoking communal tension and violating the model code of conduct.
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