New Delhi: The BJP approached the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday, demanding an FIR against the Congress and a show-cause notice to its president, Mallikarjun Kharge, for his alleged “inflammatory” remarks in Assam and “illiterate” jibe at the people of Gujarat and some other states.
Citing violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also urged the poll panel to restrain Kharge from addressing any election rally, public meeting, or making any public speech during the election period.
In a memorandum submitted to the EC, a BJP delegation alleged that Kharge, while addressing a rally comprising predominantly Muslim voters in Assam’s Nilambazar ahead of the Assembly polls in the state, made “communal and inflammatory” statements. The saffron party claimed that he invoked the Quran and compared the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to “poisonous snakes”, which amounted to incitement to violence.
The delegation, which included Union ministers Virendra Kumar and Arjun Ram Meghwal, urged the EC to direct the Congress president to withdraw his comments and issue a public apology for those.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Meghwal alleged that Kharge, while campaigning on April 7, made remarks targeting a particular community that could incite tensions.
“On April 7, while holding a responsible position as the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, during election campaigning, he addressed a particular community and said as written in the Quran, if a poisonous snake passes by while people are offering namaz, one should leave the prayers and kill it. Such statements provoke people and incite sections of the society,” he said.
The minister also slammed Kharge for calling the people of Gujarat and other states “illiterate”.
“We have demanded that he apologise publicly and sincerely,” Meghwal said.
At an election rally in Kerala’s Idukki district on Sunday, Kharge said the people of the southern state are “educated and clever” and cannot be misled, unlike those who are “illiterate” in Gujarat and some other places.
In its complaint to the EC, the BJP argued that the statements constituted misuse of religion for electoral gain, promotion of enmity between communities and inflammatory campaigning, all prohibited under the MCC. It also cited provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, including those relating to appeals on religious grounds and the promotion of hatred.
The party contended that the remarks attracted offences under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including those dealing with promoting enmity between groups, hurting religious sentiments, public mischief and provocation of breach of peace.
Describing the speech as a “premeditated” attempt at communal mobilisation, the BJP said it was delivered to exploit the religious sentiments of Muslim voters for electoral advantage.
Meghwal said at a time when the MCC is in force, such remarks are not permissible and amount to an offence.
“At a time when the Model Code of Conduct is in force across states, and under election law and criminal law, such statements cannot be made. Inciting a particular community or provoking religious sentiments is a criminal offence,” he said.
The BJP leader also objected to Kharge’s alleged remarks describing the people of Gujarat and some other states as “illiterate”, calling it an insult to those states and their residents.
“The people of Gujarat and other states will not tolerate such insults,” he said.
The delegation further alleged a decline in the level of political discourse in the Congress, claiming that senior leaders of the opposition party are increasingly using inappropriate and abusive language during election campaigning.
“Ever since Rahul Gandhi has taken charge as the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, the standard of speeches of senior Congress leaders has deteriorated, with increasing use of abusive language,” Meghwal said, adding that the poll panel has assured the delegation that appropriate action will be taken.
