The Congress has defended the Election Commission’s action denying permission to the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, for holding a rally in Beniabagh in Varanasi on May 8, saying an individual’s identity and what he stands for affect the threat perception.
Reacting to BJP leader Arun Jaitley’s allegations that the EC and the Returning Officer were biased as they allowed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to hold a rally at the same venue, Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi on Saturday said there could be no comparison as threat perceptions of different parties arose from different considerations.
“A threat perception for a particular area, which is assessed first by the police based on inputs by the Gujarat police, is then evaluated by the local administration headed by the District Magistrate. How can that be the same for the BJP and the Congress or for that matter any other party?” he asked. “They [the BJP] will cry [foul] if something goes wrong and if any preventive action is taken with regard to security, then also they will raise a hue and cry.” With the BJP realising it would not achieve its Mission 272 +, it was becoming “frustrated, aggressive and fearful,” Mr. Singhvi said.
