‘Submit public apology’: BJP moves EC against Mallikarjun Kharge over ‘terrorist’ remark, seeks action under poll code | India News
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) issued a letter on Tuesday Election Commission of India (EC) seeks action against Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge for his “terrorist” remarks Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The group called Kharg’s comments a “grossly insulting” statement and a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).In a formal complaint to the election body, the BJP wrote: “As widely reported, Shri Kharge called Hon’ble Shri Narendra Modi while addressing a conference as ‘He is a terrorist’. The comment, widely circulated in print, television and digital media, has considerable potential to spoil the electoral environment.”
The party argued that such comments amounted to “extreme personal abuse” and violated mandatory campaign speech standards under the MCC, which is in force in poll-bound Tamil Nadu.Earlier in the day, Kharge sparked controversy after calling Prime Minister Modi a “terrorist” during a press conference, while criticizing the AIADMK-BJP alliance in Tamil Nadu. However, later, the Congress chief clarified that he meant that the prime minister was “terrorizing people and political parties” and insisted that he did not literally call him a terrorist.Now the BJP has given a stern reply to the EC with its five-point demand.The BJP requested the EC to “immediately consider the statement as a prima facie violation of the Code of Conduct” and sought directions to Kharg to “public apology/retraction” or face appropriate campaign restrictions.It also called for disciplinary action under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code including Sections 175, 171/174, and 356(1). The party said: “Calling a rival political leader a ‘terrorist’ is not a mere policy criticism; it is a serious indictment of personal character and conduct.”Further, the BJP requested the EC to “immediately stop further dissemination of objectionable statements in campaign material and digital media” and direct media and social media platforms to take down such content.It called on the election body to “pass such further orders as may be necessary to protect the dignity of the electoral process and ensure a free, fair, peaceful and issue-based campaign”.“Such speech lowers the level of campaign rhetoric, inflames emotions and undermines free and fair elections,” the letter said.The group also claimed that “branding a political opponent in criminal-terrorist terms in front of voters amounts to an attempt to distort voter choice through fear, context and false personal branding rather than legitimate political motivations.”The allegation came hours after an intense campaign ended in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday evening. EC has not yet responded to BJP’s letter.
