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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spent Wednesday preparing for a showdown with the Election Commission (EC), which “like CBI has become a caged parrot of the Congress.”
Angry over the denial of permission to three of the four public events the BJP had planned for Narendra Modi in Varanasi by a “partisan” returning officer (RO), the party threatened to stage a protest outside EC headquarters here on Thursday. Simultaneously, party leaders Arun Jaitley, Amit Shah and others will stage a protest outside the office of the Varanasi Returning Officer Pranjal Yadav.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the party’s previous protest against EC was way back in the late 1980s. The BJP had sought permission for four events — a meeting of about 150 eminent citizens of Varanasi with Modi at the city’s Surya Hotel; attending the Ganga Maha Aarti at the famous Dashashwamedh Ghat; a corner meeting at Rohaniya and a public meeting at Beniabag. Only the Rohaniya meeting, to be held late Thursday afternoon, was permitted.
The RO informed the BJP that Modi should hold his meeting with Varanasi’s eminent citizens outside the city limits, near the Banaras Hindu University.
“This is unacceptable,” Jaitley said in one of the four letters he sent to EC on Wednesday. He demanded removal of the poll officer.
Jaitley said free and fair elections were not possible in Varanasi with Yadav continuing as the RO. Varanasi votes in the last phase of Lok Sabha elections, on Monday.
According to the BJP, Yadav refused permission for Modi to take part in the Maha Aarti, citing security concerns and feedback from the local intelligence unit. Permission to hold a public rally at Beniabagh was denied, with the BJP being told the rally ground had already been reserved by “one Mr Khan” for a function to hoist the tricolour.
Jaitley said reservation by “Mr Khan” was “ante dated”, as he had not deposited the fee with the treasury. The district administration later to cover up claimed Khan was exempted from depositing the fee, Jaitley said.
The BJP leader said the administration then informed the party of an Intelligence Bureau report that the venue was unsafe for a Modi rally, though Yadav had verbally given permission.
Jaitley, in his fourth letter sent to EC at 8 pm, said Yadav was guilty of “dereliction of duty” and “conduct unbecoming of an officer”. He said even if the permission was given at such a late hour, there was no way the BJP could advertise the rally and was withdrawing its request seeking permission to hold the rally at Beniabagh.
What has galled the party further is that Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has been allowed to hold a road show on Saturday. BJP media cell chief Shrikant Sharma said EC has repeatedly been biased against the party. “EC has, just like CBI, behaved like a caged parrot of Congress. The SP and Congress have colluded in Varanasi to deny our candidate a chance to campaign. This is not the first instance of EC’s partisan attitude,” said Sharma.
