Niranjan questions effectiveness of MCC amid EC silence on ‘violations’ by PM Modi

Hyderabad: If the Election Commission fails to enforce the Model Code of Conduct, there is no meaning in having MCC during elections, said G Niranjan, vice president chairman, of the Election Commission Coordination Committee of Telangana Congress.

Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, Niranjan said that he has written to chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar. “We humbly request the Election Commission to clarify whether the religious utterances of Narendra Modi come under Model Code of Conduct or not?” the letter said.

Third letter regarding ‘poll violations’ by PM Modi

This is the third letter Niranjan has written to the Election Commission of India regarding comments made by prime minister Narendra Modi during public events.

The first letter, Niranjan said, was written on April 17 for the Nalbari public meeting in Assam attended by PM Modi and the second letter on April 22 for his election speech in Rajasthan.

‘Violation everyday’

The conduct of the prime minister during the elections, stated Niranjan, is against the Model Code of Conduct. It is being repeated every day but there is no response from the ECI. Niranjan said, “He (Modi) said that the Congress party will take away the mangalsutras of women if they come to power. But still, the response of the Election Commission is not prompt, giving scope for the further violations by PM Modi.”

PM Modi in Tonk-Sawai, Rajasthan and Shakti district on April 23, resorted to an attack on the image of the Congress party and tried to malign it, he said.

Niranjan said in the letter that, “He (Modi) wrongly blamed the Congress party for cutting reservations of Schedule Tribes and Scheduled Castes to give to Muslims. He said that Congress started this project in Andhra Pradesh in 2004 and tried to implement it in 2011 in the entire country.”

Niranjan said, “Modi is saying that Congress will X-ray your assets and belongings and distribute them to Muslims. He further alleged that in Karnataka listening to Hanuman Chalisa is a crime, which is all wrong.”

20,000 people wrote to ECI; it said no comment

More than 20,000 people have emailed the ECI on their complaints outreach and also to the CEC about the controversial comments made by PM Modi.

The ECI during its meeting on the heatwave conditions in India during the second phase of polling was questioned about PM Modi’s election speeches. “We decline comment,” a poll panel spokesperson said on queries related to the prime minister’s speech on Sunday in Banswara, Rajasthan.

Following the controversial comments made by prime minister Narendra Modi in his poll speech in Rajasthan, many Opposition leaders and civil society members have urged the ECI to take action against PM Modi.

Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, along with other Congress leaders, also addressed the media on the issue. “We respect the office he (PM Modi) holds. He is as much our PM as yours or the BJP. The higher the position he holds, the more the obligation he holds to exercise restraint. Unfortunately, the statement he quoted, is seriously objectionable. We can never expect this from the PM. We would pray to him with folded hands to withdraw these comments and clarify,” he said.

Civil society organisations such as the Human Rights Forum in Hyderabad wrote to chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar seeking timely intervention by ECI, stating that ‘PM Modi’s speech constitutes a blatant violation of the Representation of the People Act and the Model Code of Conduct.’