The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday issued a show-cause notice to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for making ‘wild allegations’ against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and using words such as ‘panauti’ and ‘pickpocket’ during his recent rally at Bayatu in Barmer district of poll-bound Rajasthan.
While directing the Congress leader to appear before it on November 25, the poll panel said that it was taking action based on a complaint filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Commission said that comparing a Prime Minister to a ‘jaibkatra’ (pickpocket) and using the word ‘panauti’ was unbecoming of a very senior leader of a national political party.
The allegation of grant of waivers of Rs 14,00,000 crore for the past nine years, as asserted by BJP, was not borne out on facts, it added.
It said that speaking in a derisive and obnoxious manner against a prime Minister amounted to violation of Section 123 (4) of the Representation of People Act, Section 171G, 504, 505 (2) and 499 of the Indian Penal Code, apart from provisions of the Model Code of Conduct.
BJP had moved the ECI against the remark made by Gandhi at an election rally in Rajasthan. He had reportedly said that the ‘pickpocket never came alone, there were three people’. One came from the front, one from the back and one from a distance.
Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s job was to ‘divert’ the people’s attention. He came on TV from the front and distracted the public by raising topics of Hindu-Muslim, demonetisation, and GST. Meanwhile, (Gautam) Adani came from behind and took the money, he added.
In its complaint, the saffron party said that calling any person for that instance a Jaibkatra not only amounted to vicious abuse and personal attack, but also a character assassination of that person against whom such remark has been made with a clear intent to harm his reputation and mislead the public.