The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that no violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) had been done by the PM during his speech at Wardha in Maharashtra earlier this month in which he had accused Congress of using the term ‘Hindu terror’.
The EC received a complaint from Congress about PM Modi’s speech on April 1 which accused him of making ‘hate speeches’.
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PM made the remark in reference to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s decision to contest from a second Lok Sabha seat Wayanad in Kerala. Rahul Gandhi is also contesting from Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi.
“The Congress insulted Hindus and the people of the country have decided to punish the party in the election. Leaders of that party are now scared of contesting from constituencies dominated by the majority (Hindu) population. That is why they are forced to take refuge in places where the majority is a minority,” Modi had reportedly said.
The Congress had alleged that Modi had made some “hateful, vile and divisive” remarks against Gandhi.
“The matter has been examined in detail in accordance to the extant guidelines/provisions of the Model Code of Conduct, the Representation of the People Act and the report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra. Accordingly, the commission is of the considered view that in this matter no such violation has been noticed,” an EC spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, a verdict on another complaint pertaining to the “use of armed forces for political propaganda” is yet to be out.
The Congress has claimed that PM Modi and Amit Shah have used military operations as propaganda during the election campaign but the poll panel did not act against them despite various complaints.
The Congress had earlier moved the Election Commission against PM Modi and Shah for allegedly “dragging” the armed forces in politics repeatedly.
The EC has been claiming that it was reviewing the speech.
Congress MP Sushmita Dev had on Monday filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking urgent and necessary directions to the Election Commission (EC) to take a decision on the complaints filed against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah over alleged violations of electoral laws during campaigning.
Following this, the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the Election Commission.
