Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinay Katiyar on Friday welcomed the Election Commission's move to issue a notice to Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi for his speeches in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and said the latter's comments were extremely shocking.
"The comments that he (Rahul Gandhi) made was shocking. Why are the army officers reporting to him? So, the Election Commission has done a very correct thing by issuing a notice to him, and he cannot be let free for his remarks," he said.
The Election Commission has issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi for his speeches in Churu, Rajasthan on October 23 and Indore, Madhya Pradesh on October 24.
The poll body has asked the Congress number two to explain by Monday why action should not be initiated against him for prima facie violating the Model Code of Conduct.
The Election Commission notice also says that in case no reply is received within the prescribed time limit it will be presumed that he has nothing to say and the commission will proceed to take appropriate action without any further reference.
The BJP had complained to the poll body in this regard, saying that Gandhi had falsely blamed the party for communal violence in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.
In its complaint, the BJP said that the Congress Vice-President's remarks violate the Model Code of Conduct for elections.
The BJP's complaint to the poll panel also included Gandhi's allegation during a rally in Indore that Pakistani agencies were trying to reach out to young Muslims whose families had been affected by the Muzaffarnagar violence.
