The Election Commission on Tuesday sent a notice to BJP candidate and Madhya Pradesh Minister Imarti Devi over remarks about a rival in the ongoing byelections campaign that were allegedly in violation of the Model Code of Conduct and the EC’s advisory against any speech or actions against the dignity of women.
The EC gave the BJP candidate from Dabra 48 hours to respond to the notice. According to the transcript of her address that was shared on social media, Ms. Devi spoke about an unnamed rival who was from Bengal and went ‘paagal’ (insane) after stepping down as Chief Minister. She also said perhaps his “mother and sister” were ‘items’ in Bengal.
This comes a day after the EC issued an order in the case of former Chief Minister Kamal Nath calling Ms. Devi an ‘item’ at a rally in Dabra on October 18. The EC found that Mr. Nath had violated its April 29, 2019 advisory to parties and candidates to refrain from any speech or actions repugnant to the dignity of women. It advised Mr. Nath to refrain from using such language while the MCC is in force.
