New Delhi, May 6
On a complaint alleging violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) during the ongoing elections, the Supreme Court today asked Congress MP Sushmita Dev to produce the evidence on record regarding the Election Commission’s (EC) order giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has listed the matter for further hearing on May 8.
Dev is the Congress MP representing the Silchar Lok Sabha seat in Assam.
Representing Dev, senior advocate AM Singhvi said that the EC has not been reasonable in declining the complaints registered by the Congress on the MCC violations by the Prime Minister and the BJP president by purposely using the armed forces in their election campaign to gain political mileage. Singhvi also mentioned that many orders of the poll body contained dissenting notes by its officials.
Singhvi said: “The court should lay down guidelines as it relates to the basic structure and dissent of the official must be disclosed in all cases...the apex court must look into some orders.”
The Bench asked Dev’s counsel to file an additional affidavit in court documenting, on record, the poll body’s orders on the complaints of MCC violations by the BJP leaders. The SC on Thursday directed the EC to decide on all the remaining complaints against Modi and Shah filed by the Congress regarding the violation of MCC before May 6.
The EC has already given a clean chit to Modi in respect two speeches — one in Latur (Maharashtra) urging first-time voters to exercise their right in favour of the Balakot airstrike heroes and the soldiers martyred in the Pulwana attack, and the second in Wayanad (Kerala) where, he said, the majority is in a minority, and the maximum voters in the constituency are from minority community.
In her petition, Dev alleged that “inaction” by the poll panel on complaints against top BJP leaders was “a sign of invidious discrimination”, and maintaining such an approach is destructive, which will cast doubt on the integrity of electoral process. She said, “The PM in blatant violation of the MCC held a rally on the day of polling in Gujarat on April 23rd, 2019, i.e. date of voting for the third phase of the election.” —IANS
Varanasi: Sacked BSF jawan moves SC
- Sacked BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav on Monday moved the SC challenging the EC's decision to cancel his candidature from Varanasi from where PM Modi is contesting
- Yadav, who was dismissed in 2017 after he posted a video online complaining about the food served to the troops, was fielded by the Samajwadi Party as its Varanasi candidate
- However, the returning officer rejected Yadav’s nomination papers citing his failure to submit a certificate that he was not sacked for either corruption or disloyalty
- Yadav, in his plea, termed the decision of the poll panel discriminatory and unreasonable and said it should be set aside
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2VJ4fFf
via Today’s News Headlines
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