The Supreme Court on Thursday gave the Election Commission of India (ECI) time till May 6 to take a final call on the complaints filed by the Congress against alleged hate speeches and misuse of the armed forces as political propaganda by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.
The Commission repeatedly protested, saying it would need time to call for the entire transcript of the speeches and decide the context of the allegedly offending words in them. This would take time, it said.
“So, you have today, then Friday and even Sunday... You can do it,” Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi told the Commission, represented by senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi.
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Mr. Dwivedi submitted that there were a total of 11 complaints against the two leaders. “Of this, four have been effectively decided. We need time till at least next Wednesday to decide on the rest,” he said.
But the court put its foot down. “You come on Monday,” Chief Justice Gogoi responded.
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Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi began the hearing by submitting that the ECI had not decided on the complaints for the past three weeks. “What was spoken by them [Modi and Shah] cannot be taken back... the damage caused is irreversible. But the ECI has to take a decision by tomorrow,” he submitted.
'Two set of rules'
In one of the most direct attacks on the ECI, a 146-page petition filed by Congress lawmaker Sushmita Dev, represented by advocate Sunil Fernandes, alleged that there was one set of rules for Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah and another for the rest of the candidates.
The Congress said several representations of ‘violation’ of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) were moved in the ECI so far, but no action had been forthcoming from the poll body, which should be devoted to the concept of free and fair elections in a democracy.
The delay in action, the Congress alleged, was deliberate.
Since March 10, when the general election was notified, Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah had “specifically in sensitive areas and States, ex-facie violated the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the Election Rules and the process,” the petition said.
“It is in public domain that they have indulged in hate speeches, repeatedly used the armed forces for political propaganda, despite a clear prohibition on the same by the ECI,” it stated.
The petition narrated how “the Prime Minister, in blatant violation of the MCC, held a rally on the day of polling in Gujarat on April 23, 2019 i.e. date of voting for the third phase.”
The petition detailed the various reported utterances of Mr. Modi that allegedly violated the MCC, from portraying Congress president Rahul Gandhi's choice of Wayanad as “a seat where the minority is majority” to calling for votes in the names of the CRPF soldiers killed in the terrorist attack in Pulwama.
“Tacit endorsement”
The petition alleged that lack of action by the ECI against the Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah was a “tacit endorsement” of their statements and clean chit to them. “Inaction on the part of the ECI is a sign of invidious discrimination and is arbitrary, capricious and impermissible... certain selected very powerful individuals have been permitted to gain an unfair electoral advantage by their material infractions of the RP Act, Election Rules and the MCC,” it said. Such brazen violations were neither minor nor procedural, in any manner.
Recounting how leaders like Mayawati were banned from campaigning for 72 hours for violating the MCC, the plea said the lack of action against the Prime Minister and the BJP president despite cogent evidences, representations and exhortations to the ECI “demonstrates abdication and indecision and a complete absence of justice, in ensuring a level playing field in the ensuing general election.”
“The inactions, omissions and commissions by the Respondent/ECI are in complete and direct violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution and which are impeding free, fair and unbiased General Elections, 2019,” the petition said.