Former cricketer and Trinamool Congress candidate from Baharampur Yusuf Pathan on Friday began removing photographs of the Cricket World Cup-winning moment used by his supporters as campaign material in the Lok Sabha seat.
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The development comes after West Bengal Congress lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India (EC) accusing the former cricketer of violating the model code of conduct (MCC) by using posters of India’s World Cup-winning moments in 2011.
In a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the State, the West Bengal Congress unit demanded stern action against the former cricketer and said using banners and posters of the Cricket World Cup-winning team is gross violation of the MCC.
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“It clearly depicts the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup-winning moments where images of our nation’s high-profile cricket celebrities are seen including the likes of Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar...,” the Congress said in the letter to the CEO.
The EC has taken note of the complaint and issued orders directing the cricketer to remove the photograph. Accordingly a photograph of Mr. Pathan with other fellow cricketers was removed from a hoarding outside Kandi police station in Murshidabad district.
Mr. Pathan is contesting from Baharampur Lok Sabha seat on a Trinamool ticket and is pitted against five-time Congress MP and State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
The former cricketer has often described himself as a World Cup-winning cricketer during the campaign. Mr. Pathan is also among the star campaigners of the Trinamool. While the former cricketer had said that none of the cadres took his permission for using the photograph, he assured that the party will take steps as per EC directions.