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The FIR was lodged as the Election Commission (EC) ordered it within hours of Modi stepping out of a Gandhinagar polling booth after casting his vote, flashing his party’s election symbol and addressing the media. All of Gujarat’s 26 Lok Sabha seats went to polls as part of the seventh phase of elections on Wednesday.
Soon after coming out of the booth, Modi took a selfie of his inked finger and BJP’s lotus symbol and sat down to deliver a speech in front of dozens of television cameras. In its order, sent to the Gujarat chief secretary and director general of police (DGP), EC said Modi’s actions violated election laws, so an FIR should be lodged against him and a compliance report sent to the panel by 6 pm.
EC also asked the Gujarat administration to lodge FIRs/complaints against all TV channels and other electronic media that carried the proceedings of the meeting and displayed the election matter.
New agency PTI quoted Gujarat DGP P C Thakur as saying: “Two FIRs have been registered by the city crime branch in connection with the events.” One is against Modi and the other against television channels that broadcast the press conference.
According to the Election Commission, Modi violated the provisions of Section 126 (1) (a) and (b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, by holding the meeting and addressing it “when the polling was going on in the entire state of Gujarat and in different parts of the country”. Punishment for violating the section is imprisonment for up to two years, or a fine, or both.
BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi claimed the press conference was impromptu. “It is a technical issue. We believe Modi didn’t violate the model code of conduct. It wasn’t a planned press conference,” Lekhi said, adding a reply to EC’s notice would be sent soon. “EC is a constitutional authority and BJP respects the institution and would abide by its order,” she said.
According to senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, if the poll panel has ordered an FIR against television channels for asking questions, the legality of the issue is in question.
EC said in its order that it saw Modi’s video recording after he cast his vote and his actions amounted to displaying to the public election matter by means of television in areas going to polls on Wednesday.
The poll panel said it was “evident that the said address was in the nature of political speech intended and calculated to influence and affect the result of elections in the constituencies going to polls today, not only in Ahmedabad but also in all other constituencies in the state of Gujarat and elsewhere in the country.”
According to the Section 126 (1) (a) and (b), there is a prohibition on public meetings for 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for conclusion of polls. It says “no person shall: (a) convene, hold or attend, join or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election and (b) display to the public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus.”
This isn’t the first time during the current elections that BJP or Modi has courted controversy. The party chose April 7, the date of the first phase of the elections, to launch its manifesto. EC had then asked television channels not to show the manifesto-launch ceremony in the areas going to polls that day (only half a dozen seats in the Northeast had polled in that phase).
Similarly, many parties on April 24 complained about Modi’s road show in Varanasi being telecast live, even as 117 seats, including several in Uttar Pradesh, were going to polls that day (in the sixth phase).
Wednesday’s poll panel decision came after a Congress party complaint flagged Modi’s press conference. The Gujarat chief minister also posted his selfie on his twitter handle, saying. “I congratulate the people of Gujarat. The campaign has passed very peacefully. Elections are a festival of democracy. Everyone must join this festival of democracy and strengthen it.”
At the press conference, Modi attacked Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, saying: “The mother-son government is on its way out. The Congress has accepted defeat and it is evident from the way they’re giving statements of aligning with the Third Front. On May 16, the verdict will be clear. There will be a strong government led by BJP. There is no confusion.” Modi also replied to a question about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s threat to move court against him for defaming her. “For the past 12 years, I have faced many cases from CBI and others,” he said.
Later in the day, Congress General Secretary Ajay Maken said Modi “shred into pieces” the model code. Another general secretary, Shakeel Ahmed, alleged Modi was a “habitual and serial violator” of the code.
Meanwhile, the seventh phase of polling across India was peaceful, barring some stray incidents of violence. All of Punjab’s 13 seats, Gujarat’s 26 seats and Telangana’s 17, besides seven seats of Bihar, one in Jammu & Kashmir, 14 in UP, nine in West Bengal and one each in the Union territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu went to polls on Wednesday.
The remaining two phases of the current elections are on May 7, when parts of West Bengal, Bihar, UP and Seemandhra go to polls and on May 12, when the rest of Bihar, Bengal and UP’s seats are scheduled to vote.
CONTROVERSIES GALORE
People booked by the Election Commission during this year’s Lok Sabha polls
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Amit Shah: The BJP general secretary’s public events were stopped at EC’s instructions after he asked voters to take “revenge”; ban was lifted after Shah apologised
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Azam Khan: The Samajwadi Party leader’s public rallies and meetings are disallowed over his remarks that Muslims led the Kargil victory (the comment was seen hurting communal harmony)
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Iqbal Masood: The Congress party’s Saharanpur candidate was arrested for his hate speech, in which he threatened to chop Modi into pieces
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Giriraj Singh: The rallies of BJP’s Nawada candidate were stopped after he said all those voting against BJP should go to Pakistan
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Ramdev: The public events of the yoga guru, a BJP supporter, were stopped after his ‘honeymoon’ remarks (considered insulting to both Rahul Gandhi and Dalits)
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Sharad Pawar: The Election Commission issued notice to the Nationalist Congress Party chief after he asked supporters to vote twice
- Mulayam Singh Yadav: The SP chief was issued a notice for his remarks that temporary teachers in UP should vote for his party
