Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 23: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday issued a notice to the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for calling the Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “jebkatra” (pick pocket) and describing him as “panauti” (bad omen) for India’s defeat in the cricket world cup final match.
The commission sent him a notice asking him to provide an explanation to the allegations made in a complaint filed by the BJP Saturday evening failing which “action deemed fit would be taken by the Commission.”
The BJP complaint also alleged that Mr Gandhi had used other derogatory terms and made unverified allegations during his campaign in Rajasthan, where assembly elections are due on Saturday. The use of such language is “unbecoming” of a senior leader, the complaint read.
The poll body said it had received a complaint from the BJP on Wednesday alleging that in a public meeting at Batayu, District Barmer, Rajasthan, Mr Gandhi made “wild allegations” and spoke in a “derisive and obnoxious” manner about the Prime Minister.
On Wednesday, a BJP delegation led by Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya complained to the ECI. “It is alleged that comparing a Prime Minister to a “Jaibkatra (pick pocket) and using the word “Panauti” is unbecoming of a very senior leader of a national political party. Further the allegation of grant waivers of ₹14,00,000 crore for the past 9 years, is asserted by the BJP as not borne out by facts,” the notice said adding they were also in violation of Representation of People’s Act and 499 of IPC and provisions of the Model Code of Conduct.
“Comparing a Prime Minister to a jebkatra and (calling him a) panauti is unbecoming of any senior leader and is a sign of plummeting political discourse,” the complaint said urging the EC to take appropriate legal action against Rahul Gandhi.
In its notice, the Commission recalled an advisory issued by it in May this year where it had expressed concerns at the plummeting level of political discourse in the campaigning period and had asked parties to exercise restraint.
It then asked Mr Gandhi to provide an explanation as to why action as deemed fit for alleged violation of MCC and relevant penal provisions should not be initiated by the Commission and asked him to reply by 6 p.m. on Nov 25. “If no reply is received by then action deemed fit will be taken by the Commission.”
The poll body had on November 22, issued a notice to Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra for “camouflaging” political advertisements in newspapers as news reports or political predictions which it said distorted the level playing field by “creating confusion in the minds of the electors.”
The ECI had issued a notice to Gandhi’s sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a Congress general secretary, last week for her criticism of the Prime Minister during campaign speeches in Rajasthan. In its notice, the Election Commission pointed out that the Model Code of Conduct prohibits leaders from making unverified allegations against political rivals.
On Tuesday, speaking at a rally in Rajasthan, Rahul Gandhi had accused PM Modi of attempting to divert attention from key issues at the heart of the election. “He comes on TV and says ‘Hindu-Muslim’ and sometimes goes to a cricket match,” he said. “Our boys would have won the World Cup but the panauti (bad omen) lost us the match,” he then said, referring to India’s defeat to Australia at the World Cup finals on Sunday. “PM means Panauti Modi,” he had added.
PM Modi had attended the match, played at a stadium in Ahmedabad named after him. While the comment, complete with memes, went viral on social media, the furious BJP demanded an apology.
Senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the comment was “shameful, condemnable and disgraceful.” Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekar said they indicated “desperation and mental instability”.
“A 55yr old who has never worked a day in his life, whose family has exploited country like Parasites for decades with their corruption and whose govt destroyed country economically in the #LostDecade, wud refer like this to our PM is sign of desperation and mental instability,” read his post on X.
Rahul Gandhi was earlier this year disqualified as a Member of Parliament following two years imprisonment he was awarded by a local court in Gujarat for defamatory statements against Modi during the 2019 Parliamentary elections. He was reinstated after four months when the Supreme Court put a freeze on his conviction.
