The Election Commission has finally sprung into action, against the hate speeches making the rounds ahead of Lok Sabha polls.
On Monday 15 April, the Commission barred Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Mayawati, BJP leader Maneka Gandhi and Samajwadi Party’s Azam Khan from campaigning, in view of their ‘highly provocative’, ‘communal’ and ‘derogatory’ comments.
While the gag order on Adityanath and Azam Khan is for 72 hours, Maneka Gandhi and Mayawati face 48 hour bans.
This is the first time in the 2019 election campaign that the Commission has invoked its powers under the Constitution.
Supreme Court on Tuesday 16 April appreciated the move. “It seems you have got the powers now… EC has woken up now,” Supreme Court noted.
But the list of offenders does not end with these leaders. Twitterati said the Election Commission should also take note of offenders like BJP leader PS Sreedharan Pillai who said in a rally in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday that Muslims can be identified by “removing their clothes.”
Another BJP leader Satpal Satti, while campaigning in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan on Monday, used abusive language against Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
The latest offender is Ramesh Katara, a BJP legislator from Fatehpura, who in an election rally on Tuesday said Modi has installed cameras in polling booths and will know who voted for Congress.
“Who voted for the BJP, who for the Congress, it can be seen. Aadhaar Card and all cards have your photo now, if there are fewer votes from your booth then he will come to know who did not cast vote and then you will not get jobs,” ANI reported him saying.
There was outrage on Twitter against BJP leader Ramesh Katara who threatened voters to cast their votes for the BJP. BJP leader Satpal Satti was also condemned by Twitterati.
The Election Commission taking note of offences was seen as a welcome move on Twitter but there is still a lot more to be done.
“Good that EC has finally acted,” said journalist Rifat Jawaid. However, he was of the opinion that the credibility of EC will be under the scanner if it doesn’t act against Modi. Prime Minister Modi had earlier invoked Balakot and Pulwama to ask for votes, in an election rally.
Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed also said EC must take action against PM Modi and BJP President Amit Shah for violating the code of conduct.
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan also asked if we can expect EC to act against the “biggest violators of the Code, Modi and Shah who are shamelessly running a communal campaign and seeking votes in name of Army.”
Journalist Swati Chaturvedi questioned the resilience of the institutions. “Why should it take a prod from the Supreme Court to make the EC act against politicians communal rants,” she asked.
One Twitter user said the BJP leaders seem to have shed their clothes to dance naked in public. “EC must disqualify the candidates targeting communities and set a precedent for future,” he said.
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