As expected, the Election Commission on Tuesday gave clean to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his speech made in Maharashtra’s Wardha, where he was seen provoking Hindus against the Congress at an election rally on 1 April.
The Election Commission, which agreed to hear the complaint seemingly reluctantly, has come under considerable criticism for choosing to look the other way on complaints of violations by Modi. After hearing the matter, the national poll body headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora concluded, “In a matter related to a complaint concerning an alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct in a speech by PM Narendra Modi in Wardha, Maharashtra on 01.04.2019, Commission is of the considered view that in this matter no such violation has been noticed.”
The EC’s decision to hear the matter came a day after the Congress approached the Supreme Court accusing Modi and other top BJP leaders of seeking votes in the name of the armed forces and invoking Hindu religion.
Speaking in Wardha, Modi had said, “They can run in whichever direction, but the Congress can never exonerate itself from this sin. Even the Congress has realised that the country has decided to punish it. That’s why their leaders are leaving the battleground. That’s because Hindus have woken up. That’s why he (Rahul Gandhi) doesn’t have courage to fight from a seat (Amethi) where Hindus are in majority. That’s why he’s forced to seek refuge in a constituency (Wayanad), where the majority community is in minority.”
Earlier, a Congress delegation had met the Election Commission raising the same issue of poll violations by Modi and his top party colleagues. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi had said that the Model Code of Conduct had become the Modi Code of Conduct. The party had said that ‘such habitual violations by the prime minister make it evident that he is not just making a mockery of this Commission but also the armed forces and the defence personnel for his petty political gains.’