After an unusual delay in giving its decision, the Election Commission (EC) on May 1 said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to first time voters to dedicate their vote to Pulwama martyrs and soldiers who carried out Balakot airstrike, did not violate its instructions on invoking armed forces in poll campaigns.
Ritika Chopra reporting for The Indian Express wrote that in giving PM Modi the clean chit the EC overruled its own officials’ assessment on a mere technicality.
Previously, Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and the Osmanabad District Electoral Officer (DEO) had told the EC that Modi’s remarks are prima facie violative of its orders, asking parties against using the armed forces in their campaigns. However, the EC went against the opinion of the local poll authorities in giving the PM the clean chit.
IE reported that the opinion of the local poll officials was debated at length in the commission’s meeting on Tuesday. But eventually the prima facie report was over-ruled on the technical ground that PM Modi did not specifically use the air strikes to ask for votes to be deposited to him or his political party the BJP.
IE quoted an anonymous EC official saying the comments of the DEO and the CEO were not considered since their opinion was based on “just five lines of the speech”.
The official told IE, “The decision was made after taking the whole speech into consideration.”
In its official reply regarding Modi’s alleged poll code violation the commission said, “The matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and after examination of complete transcript of speech of 11 pages as per the certified copy sent by the Returning Officer, Osmanabad parliamentary constituency. Commission is of the considered view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted.”
On April 9, while addressing a rally in Ausa in Maharashtra’s Latur, Modi had said, “Can your first vote be dedicated to those who carried out the air strike.”
“I want to tell the first-time voters: can your first vote be dedicated to the veer jawans (valiant soldiers) who carried out the air strike in Pakistan. Can your first vote be dedicated to the veer shaheed (brave martyrs) of Pulwama (terror attack),” Modi had said.
On 2 May the Supreme Court will hear Congress MP Sushmita Dev’s petition demanding urgent action on behalf of EC on alleged MCC violations by Modi and BJP President Amit Shah.
In the first clean chit handed to Modi on 30 April, the EC had said Modi had not violated the model code in Wardha on April 1, when he slammed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from Wayanad and indicated that the Kerala constituency had more minority voters.
(With PTI Inputs)