The Election Commission of India issued a show-cause notice to BJP Suvendu Adhikari for alleged communal overtones in his speech made last month. This comes a day after the polls body sent a similar notice to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for demanding votes on communal grounds.
The complaint against Adhikari was lodged by Kavita Krishnan, a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML), who claimed that the “hate speech” was delivered in a public meeting and has since been widely reported in the media.
In her complaint, Krishnan had raised objection to Adhikari’s speech, wherein he used the word “Begum” while speaking about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
He had told people of Nandigram, a region that holds special importance for Trinamool Congress, that a vote for “Begum” would lead to the creation of mini-Pakistan.
In its notice, the body referred to two provisions of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
While one states that criticism of political parties should remain restricted to their policies, past records, and work, the other underscores that candidates can’t appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes.
EC said Adhikari’s words violated clauses (2) and (3) of Part I of General Conduct of Model Conduct.
Suvendu Adhikari contested on April 1 against West Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee from the high-profile constituency of Nandigram in the second phase of the ongoing state assembly polls. Adhikari, a former close aide of Banerjee’s, joined the BJP in December last year and had since then accused her of religious appeasement, among other charges, during the run-up to the polls.
