New Delhi: Accusing Rahul Gandhi and Congress of flouting the model code of conduct, the BJP on Sunday complained to the Election Commission over his remarks linking RSS to Mahatma Gandhi's killing and sought action against the Congress Vice President and derecognition of the party.
In a memorandum to Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath, the BJP charged Rahul and his party with being "habitual offenders" of the poll code and flaring up communal tension ahead of elections. "It is prayed that appropriate action may kindly be taken against the Indian National Congress as well as Rahul Gandhi, MP and Vice President, Indian National Congress for violating the Model Code of Conduct and the recognition of Indian National Congress as a National Party may kindly be withdrawn immediately for repeated violations of the Model Code of Conduct," it said.
Here is the complete letter:
To
The Election Commission of India
Nirvachan Sadan
New Delhi
Subject: Complaint against Indian National Congress and Sh. Rahul Gandhi, MP & Vice President, Indian National Congress for repeatedly violating Model Code of Conduct, with a prayer for taking appropriate action against both of them for the same and immediate withdrawal of the recognition of Indian National Congress as a National Party.
Respectfully showeth:
1. That the Election Schedule for the elections to the 16th Lok Sabha was announced by the Election Commission on 5-3-2014 and, accordingly, the Model Code of Conduct immediately came intoforce with effect from 5th March itself.
2. That Sh. Rahul Gandhi, MP & Vice President, Indian National Congress addressed a rally in Bhiwandi in Thane, Maharashtra on 6 March 2014 as part of the campaigning by the Congress for the forthcoming elections. In this rally, Sh. Gandhi made certain false and baseless allegations against the members of the Bharatiya Janata Party & Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and also made communal utterances, inciting communal feelings amongst people of various communities.
3. The entire tone & tenor of Sh. Rahul Gandhi's speech was to incite the feelings of the people and create hatred towards the BJP as well as RSS. A bare reading of his statements makes it clear that they were aimed at putting absolutely false & baseless notions in the minds of the people that the BJP creates confrontation & enmity between Hindus & Muslims as well as amongst other communities & regions and also that members of BJP & RSS were responsible for the killing of Sh. Mahatma Gandhi. The intention of Sh. Rahul Gandhi was to incite the feelings of the people by falsely portraying the RSS to be responsible for his death and further create a sense of fear amongst the Hindus, Muslims and other communities that the BJP will create tensions between them.
4. That these statements of Sh. Rahul Gandhi are not only absolutely false, disgraceful, condemnable, baseless but also an utter violation of the Model Code of Conduct as well as established democratic practices. It is an attempt to mislead the people of the country by character assassination of the BJP, RSS & its members, based on completely false & baseless allegations & propaganda.
5. That the Indian National Congress, a recognised national party, has not disassociated itself from the statements made by its Vice President till date. On the contrary, Congress members actively endorsed and defended his statements at all public platforms.
6. That that this speech is not an isolated incident of Model Code violation; neither for the Congress nor for Sh. Rahul Gandhi. It may be recalled that Sh. Rahul Gandhi had made similar statements inciting communal feelings on 23-10-2013 & 24-10-2013 during the Assembly Elections for 5 states held in November-December 2013. A BJP delegation had met the Election Commission on 28-10-2013 and submitted a complaint against Congress & Sh. Rahul Gandhi for his speech. The Commission issued notice to Sh. Rahul Gandhi and after considering his reply, the Commission conveyed its displeasure to him and advised him to be more circumspect in his public utterances during election campaigns, vide its order dated 13-11-2013. The relevant extract of the Commission's order is as follows:
"19. Whereas, while the commission acknowledges the underlying intention and spirit of your impugned speeches to foster and promote communal harmony, it takes exception to the tone, tenor and content of the impugned portions of your speeches (extracted in the commission's notice) which are part of your said speeches; and
20. Whereas, the Commission considers that the aforesaid portions of your speeches were not in consonance with the letter and spirit of the model code of conduct which prohibits any speeches or statements which may tend to aggravate differences between different religious communities and which also prohibits criticism of other political parties on the basis of unverified allegations; and
21. Whereas, having regard to the above, the Commission is not satisfied with the explanation furnished by you in reply to the Commission's above referred notice;
22. Now, therefore, having regard to the totality of facts and circumstances of the case and submissions and contentions made by you in your repry under reference, the Commission hereby convey its displeasure and advises you to be more circumspect in your public utterances during election campaigns."
7. That, thereafter, again on 16-11-2013 & 17-11-2013, Sh. Rahul Gandhi made statements during the election campaign, meant to incite the feelings of the people and create hatred towards the BJP. A BJP delegation met the Election Commission on 18-11-2013 and filed another complaint against the Congress & Sh. Rahul Gandhi for his false & communal utterances against the BJP. The Commission, thereafter, put all political parties on notice vide its order dated 28-11-2013, relevant extract of which is as follows:
"5. While the Commission does not propose to take action on the lines prayed for by the said two national recognized, political parties at this stage, the Commission, however, desires to put all political parties on notice that any repeated violations of the Model Code of Conduct and use of intemperate and abusive language may invite action against the defaulting political parties."
8. That the repeated utterances & false allegations of Sh. Gandhi against the BJP & also the RSS are not only absolutely false and baseless but also highly inflammatory, inciting and likely to induce feelings of hatred amongst different communities. A conscious attempt has been made by him to mislead the public by trying to discredit the BJP & RSS by making absolutely false, baseless, unfounded allegations against their members and to create a sense of fear amongst the Hindus, Muslims and other communities from the BJP, which is absolutely against the very spirit of the Model Code of Conduct as well as healthy democratic practices.
9. That Paragraphs 1 (1) to (3) of the Model Code of Conduct is as follows:
"1. General Conduct
(1) No party or candidate shall indulge in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religions or linguistic.
(2) Criticism of other political parties, when made, shall be confined to their policies and programmes, past record and work. Parties and candidates shall refrain from criticism of all aspect of private life, not connected with the public activities of the leaders or workers of other parties. Criticism of other parties or their worker based on unverified allegations or distortion shall be avoided.
(3) There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes. Mosques, Churches,Temples or other places of worship shall not be used as forum for election propaganda."
10. That the above utterances have not been withdrawn by Mr. Gandhi till date. The false & misleading statements as well as inflammatory statements inciting feelings of hatred amongst the people are in clear violation of the Model Code of Conduct and, accordingly, Sh. Gandhi is liable to be proceeded against for the same. His actions are also a brazen violation & contempt of the Election Commission's order dated 13-11-2013, vide which the Commission had advised him to be circumspect in his speeches, as well as order date 28-11-2013 vide which the Commission had put al political parties, including Congress, on notice on repeated violations of model code of conduct. These repeated actions are also a challenge to the authority of the Election Commission of India.
11. That Paragraph 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment Order), 1968 is as follows:
"16A. Power of Commission to suspend or withdraw recognition of a recognised political party for its failure to observe Model Code of Conduct or follow lawful directions and instructions of the Commission.- Notwithstanding anything in this Order, if the Commission is satisfied on information in its possession that a political party, recognised either as a National Party or as a State Party under the provisions of this order, has failed or has refused or is refusing or has shown or is showing defiance by its conduct or otherwise (a) to observe the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct for Guidance of Political parties and "Candidates" as issued by the Commission in January, 1991 or as amended by it from time to time, or (b) follow or carry out the lawful directions and instructions of the Commission given from time to time with a view to furthering the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections or safeguarding the interests of the general public and the electorate in particular, the Commission may, after taking into account all the available facts and circumstances of the case and after giving the party a reasonable opportunity of showing cause in relation to the action proposed to be taken against it, either suspend, subject to such terms as the Commission may deem appropriate, or withdraw the recognition of such party as the National party or, as the case may be, the State party."
12. The Congress has neither disassociated itself from the earlier statements of Sh. Rahul Gandhi nor from his later statements. On the contrary, the Congress has actively endorsed all his above speeches by publishing them on its official website and social media web pages. The Congress is actively defending and propagating each and every such statement made by Sh. Rahul Gandhi at all public platforms. Therefore, it has also further violated the Model Code of Conduct and, therefore, is also liable to be proceeded against under Para 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 and its recognition as a National Party is liable to be withdrawn immediately.
13. That, as also brought to the notice of the Commission in the earlier complaints, senior leaders of the Congress have repeatedly violated the various provisions of the Model Code of Conduct during various elections and the instances of such violations are not only increasing but are also getting more serious in nature. The violations in question comes within only about 4 months after the Commission's orders on the earlier violations by Sh. Rahul Gandhi and its order cautioning a Congress Union Minister for violation of the Model Code of Conduct. A few recent instances are mentioned here:
a. On 9-1-2012, Sh. Salman Khurshid, Congress Leader & then Law Minister violated the Model Code of Conduct during the Uttar Pradesh elections, for which he was censured by the Election Commission vide its order dated 9-2-201.
b. On 15-2-2012, during the same elections, Sh. Beni Prasad Verma, Congress leader & Union Steel Minister violated the Model Code of Conduct by making as appeal on communal lines in his speech at Kayamganj. Upon notice by the Election Commission, he tendered his apology and the proceedings were dropped by the Election Commission hoping that he shall be careful in future.
c. In Feb-March, 2012, Sh. Rajarapu Prathap, Congress Candidate, along with Congress MPs Sh. Siricilla Rajaiah and Sh. Balaram Naik, made an appeal on the basis of religion during the Andhra Pradesh elections, for which he was reprimanded by the Election Commission vide its order dated 15-3-2012.
d. On 21-10-2012, Sh. Kadir Pirzada, Member Core Committee, Gujrat Unit of Indian National Congress made inflammatory speech inciting communal hatred during the Gujrat Elections, for which he was cautioned by the Election Commission vide its order dated 6-11-2012.
e. On 31-10-2012, during the same elections, Sh. Shankarsinh Vaghela, Congress Leader & Union Minister made inflammatory utterances inciting communal hatred, for which he was cautioned by the Election Commission vide its order dated 23-11-2012.
f. On 23-10-2013 & 24-10-2013, during the assembly elections to 5 states held in November-December 2013, Sh. Rahul Gandhi made certain false and baseless allegations against the BJP and communal utterances, inciting the communal feelings between different communities, for which the Commission conveyed its displeasure and asked him to be more circumspect in his public speeches vide its order dated 13-11-2013.
g. On 16-10-2013, during the same elections, Sh. Porika Balram Naik, Congress MP & Minister of State announced a financial grant in Bhopal in utter violation of the Model Code of Conduct, for which he was cautioned by the Election Commission vide its order dated 15-11-2013.
h. On 16-11-2013 & 17-11-2013, during the same elections, Sh. Rahul Gandhi made false and baseless allegations against the BJP and communal utterances, inciting the communal feelings between different communities, for which the Commission put all political parties, including Congress, on notice that any repeated violations of the Model Code of Conduct and use of intemperate and abusive language may invite action against the defaulting political party, vide its order dated 28-11-2013.
14. That the Indian National Congress and its leaders are flouting the code with impunity time and again, inspite of warnings by the Election Commission. The present violations are the 6th instance of violations of Model Code of Conduct by senior Congress leaders during the last six months, 5 of them coming from Sh. Rahul Gandhi. Therefore, it is high time that strict action is initiated against Sh. Rahul Gandhi as well as the Indian National Congress for repeatedly violating the Model Code of Conduct and challenging as well as undermining the instructions, warning as well as the authority of the Election Commission.
It is, therefore, respectfully prayed that appropriate action may kindly be taken against the Indian National Congress as well as Sh. Rahul Gandhi, MP & Vice President, Indian National Congress for violating the Model Code of Conduct and the recognition of Indian National Congress as a National Party may kindly be withdrawn immediately for repeated violations of the Model Code of Conduct.
Thanking you,
&
With Regards,
Yours Sincerely,
(Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi)
MP & National Vice President B.J.P.
(Satya Pal Jain)
Ex-MP
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