Kharge’s remarks on Modi: Congress alleges EC issuing ‘casual’ notices, seeks time to reply

In its reply, the Congress also drew the EC’s attention to PM Modi’s address to the nation on Saturday, after the government’s “failure” to pass the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill. “Aside from the PM’s unsuccessful attempt to camouflage that as a defeat for women’s reservation, it was more importantly, a violation of the Model Code of Conduct,” wrote Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary (communications).

The Congress also mentioned a social media post on BJP’s official ‘X’ account, which quoted Union Home Minister Amit Shah as saying: “Unemployed youths will be credited Rs 3000/month in account. Women, too, will get Rs 3000/month in their account. In the entire Bengal, women will be able to travel free in the Govt buses.”

Alleging Shah’s statement as “a prime example of quid pro quo”, the Congress claimed it violated Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

“Both of the above seemed to have escaped this Commission’s attention which seems ever vigilant to slights against the above, from the Opposition,” read the response by Ramesh.

As for Kharge’s remarks in question, the party said that Kharge had already clarified them. Quoting Kharge’s clarification, the response read: “…He (PM Modi) is terrorising people and political parties. I never said he is a terrorist… What I mean, I want to clarify, is that Modi always threatens… Therefore I said, in that context, he is terrorising people and political parties. I never said he is a terrorist..”

The Congress also flagged the error by the EC while issuing the notice on Wednesday, when its initial notice mentioned Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien as one of the complainants. In about half an hour, the said notice was deleted by the poll panel and a fresh version was uploaded later in the night without the TMC leader’s name. The other complainants include Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and some office-bearers of the BJP.

The Congress alleged this error indicated the “casual and routine manner” in which the EC was issuing show-cause notices merely on the basis of the “ruling party’s complainants’ versions”.

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More

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