Congress says that “no significant measures have been taken to penalize those guilty of the ruling regime”
- There has been a blatant continuation of the violations: the opposition.
- Watchdog responsible for ensuring that parties do not violate the rules.
- The letter mentions 10 allegations against Modi and key aides.
NEW DELHI: India's opposition said the nation's election commission was allowing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to continue “shameless and brazen” violations by failing to take action on opposition complaints about religious hate speech and misrepresentations.
More than halfway through India's six-week national election, the largest in the world, the opposition led by the Congress Party complained in a letter to the Election Commission of India on Friday that “there is no have taken significant steps to penalize those responsible for the ruling.” regime”.
This was a “complete abdication” of the commission's duty, he said. “As a result, there has been a wanton and brazen continuation of these violations, which are now being committed with impunity and complete contempt.”
The watchdog is responsible for ensuring that political parties do not violate electoral rules against promoting religious, caste or linguistic divisions in the multi-ethnic South Asian nation.
In his campaign speeches, Modi, who is seeking a third consecutive term, has taken aim at Congress, saying he wants to help the Muslim minority at the expense of other socially disadvantaged groups.
Representatives of the commission and Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not respond to requests for comment.
Election results in the world's most populous country will be announced on June 4.
On Tuesday, the commission ordered social media platform disadvantaged.
Although it did not rule on the complaints, the commission sought a response from BJP chief JP Nadda to an April 21 speech in which Modi said Congress planned to redistribute wealth from Hindus to Muslims, whom he called “infiltrators” and “those with many children.”
The commission also sent a notice to the Congress over the complaints by the BJP, which says it has filed three complaints.
“The delay calls into question the credibility of the election commission and therefore the electoral process,” said SY Qureshi, former head of the three-member election commission. “Any damage to his reputation will cause untold damage to the legitimacy of India's democracy.”
The opposition letter mentioned 10 complaints that the Congress had lodged since April 6 against Modi and key aides for what it calls “divisive”, “false” and “provocative” statements that sow sectarian division and misrepresent Congress' positions.
“We are not told what is the response, what is the action that is being taken,” Congress lawmaker Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters after meeting commission officials on Friday.
“This is an irreversible window,” Singhvi said. “If they do not act promptly, it would be a complete abdication of constitutional duty.”
Ashok Lavasa, who was election commissioner during the 2019 general elections, said the process from receiving a complaint to deciding on it “should not take more than three-four days because otherwise it loses its purpose”, as The campaign phase is quite short.
