The Congress has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India (EC) against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and has demanded a ban on the two leaders for the remainder of the election campaign in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, who filed the complaint on behalf of his party, termed the BJP’s campaign “divisive, false, and malicious“.
The complaint accused Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah of levelling “false allegations” against the Congress’s present and past leadership, accusing them of being opposed to the interests of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes.
The Congress has demanded that criminal cases be registered against “individuals involved in the BJP’s blatantly violative electoral campaign”.
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The party, in its memorandum to the poll panel, said that both Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah have falsely blamed the Congress of “actively promoting infighting” in these three communities. The party has submitted transcripts of all the “objectionable” comments to the panel.
“To allow Shri Narendra Modi and the BJP to continue to make these elections about caste is ultimately a disservice to the electorate. Real issues such as social economic justice, developments in public infrastructure and job creation have been relegated to the background,” the complaint said.
The party said that Article 324 of the Constitution empowers the EC to “arrive at solutions to ensure that the integrity of the electoral process is not compromised.”
Published - November 14, 2024 10:49 pm IST
