'No Violation Of Model Code Of Conduct': PM Modi Given Clean Chit By EC, Yet Again

The Election Commission on May 4, gave clean chits to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in two more cases of alleged violations of Model Code of Conduct. This time, the watchdog had to review Modi’s speech in Patan, Gujarat where he referred to Wing Commander Abhinandan and described how he (Modi) had kept Pakistan on their toes in the aftermath of Balakot air strike.

PTI, citing ‘sources’ has further said that two more clean chits were given by the Election Commission to PM Modi. The said clean chits were given over the Ahmedabad roadshow on April 23 and his speech on April 9 in Chitradurga, Karnataka where he asked voters to dedicate their votes to heroes of Balakot strike. According to this claim, the number of clean chit given to PM Modi now stands at eight.

Sixth clean chit given to PM Modi

The EC’s decision comes just before the deadline set by the Supreme Court of May 6, after Sushmita Dev, Congress MP moved Supreme Court to seek the apex court’s intervention and direct EC to act on complaints against violation of MCC by the PM and Amit Shah on April 29. With this decision, it is the sixth time that the Prime Minister has bagged the decision in its favour. The EC in its order said that the body has minutely gone through Modi’s speech and failed to find any violation of the MCC.

The EC has also given the nod to Amit Shah for his remark in Nagpur’s speech where he said that it was hard to understand Rahul Gandhi’s procession in Kerala, as it could be India or Pakistan.

Other cases where PM was given clean chits

On Friday (May 3), the EC had also declared that the Prime Minister did not violate the MCC during his rally in Varanasi. The body has also rebuffed the alleged violation of MCC for his comment in Nanded in Maharashtra where he referred to Congress as a ‘sinking Titanic.’

On April 9, Narendra Modi while addressing a rally in Ausa in Maharashtra’s Latur had said, “I want to tell the first-time voters: can your first vote be dedicated to the veer jawans [valiant soldiers] who carried out the air strike in Pakistan. Can your first vote be dedicated to the veer shaheed [brave martyrs] of Pulwama [terror attack].”

Following this incident, local poll authorities in Madhya Pradesh told the Election Commission that Narendra Modi’s remark violated its orders asking political parties to not refer to the achievements of the armed forces as part of their political propaganda.

This time, however, the Commission went against the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) opinion. It also went against the opinion of the Osmanabad District Electoral Officer (DEO), reported The Indian Express. According to both of them, the remark that Modi made was “inconsistent” with the instructions that the poll watchdog had laid down.

On April 5, the watchdog received a complaint against the PM for his speech in a rally in Wardha, Maharashtra on April 1. There, he had mocked Rahul Gandhi for contesting from Wayanad. He said that the Congress party is ‘running away from majority-dominated areas’ to take shelter in areas where the majority is in the minority. To this, on April 30, the EC claimed that Narendra Modi, in his speech had not violated the model code of conduct.

On April 6, the PM in Maharashtra while campaigning for his party again referred to the Wayanad’s seat as “country’s majority is in the minority”.

The Election Commission also gave PM Modi a clean chit for his comment on nuclear weapons. He had said that India’s nuclear missiles are not kept for Diwali.

The full commission of EC comprises of Sunil Arora, the Chief Election Commissioner, along with Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra. Lavasa in four of the cases against the PM Modi opposed the decision of EC.

Also Read: “Can You Dedicate Your Vote To Balakot Airstrike?” EC Says PM’s Remarks Does Not Violate Model Code