Congress will also seek all legal options over BJP leader’s ‘vishkanya’ remarks against former party chief Sonia Gandhi in Karnataka
Published Date – Sat 04/29/23 08:00 AM
Congress will also seek all legal options over BJP leader’s ‘vishkanya’ remarks against former party chief Sonia Gandhi in Karnataka
New Delhi: Congress on Friday urged the Election Commission (EC) to ban Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from campaigning in the May 10 Karnataka state assembly elections for their alleged derogatory remarks against minority communities, causing An atmosphere of disharmony in the community.
A delegation of Congress leaders including Abhishek Singhvi, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Mukul Wasnik met the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioner and asked the polling team to ensure a level playing field in the southern state.
Congress will also seek all legal options over the “vishkanya” remarks made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader against former party president Sonia Gandhi in Karnataka on Friday.
The delegation said the Shah and Adyanath had made “false”, “partisan” and “community” remarks during the Karnataka polls for electoral gain and said they should be banned in the state campaign.
The Congress has accused the Shah and Adityanath of trying to create an atmosphere of communal discord in Karnataka by spreading unsubstantiated, false, malicious and shared accusations in their poll speeches.
Opposition parties said the EC should take immediate action against the two leaders.
“ECI should expressly and completely ban Mr. Amit Shah from participating in all campaign activities until the end of the elections and further ban the dissemination of videos of rallies with offending parts,” a memorandum signed by All India Congress Committee (AICC) Secretary-General Randeep Surjewala and submitted Tell the voting group.
Speaking to reporters outside the European Commission offices, Singhvi said: “We have just concluded a very productive and important meeting with the European Commission. Extreme disgust, blatant partisanship, community and false statements by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
“They made clear statements against minority communities… We have requested that such people be banned from campaigning,” Singhvi said when asked about BJP leader Basangouda Patil Yatnal’s “vishkanya” (vicious) remarks about Gandhi Congress will explore all available legal options, including moving EC.
“This is a very derogatory and despicable statement about Sonia Gandhi…. We will use all legal options including (moving) the EC,” he said.
“Desperate to improve their chances in the upcoming elections, the Shah has attempted to incite protests in Karnataka by deliberately making false, baseless and unsubstantiated statements in front of tens of thousands of voters,” the Congress memorandum said. Law-abiding voters, BJP even passed on its footage to a wider audience.” “In doing so, he and the organizers of the rally committed a serious electoral crime by not only violating this code but also
punishable under the Indian Penal Code, 1860,” it said.
On April 25, Congress claimed that the Shah and several other BJP leaders spoke at a rally in Vijayapura, Karnataka, and that they aimed to address the crowds that had gathered at the venue and the Created an atmosphere of community discord among those who heard the speech on the media platform. The party also claimed that the purpose of the speeches was to defame Congress based on statements known to be false.
The home minister was quoted by opposition parties as saying that the Shah had said: “Former Karnataka Chief Minister Sida Ramaya released all the PFI workers who were detained earlier, and the BJP government had to find them again and bring them back. They were jailed.” It alleged that Shah had also stated that “the Indian National Congress has given an election promise that if it is elected to form the government in Karnataka, it will lift the ban on the PFI”.
“Additionally, and even more worrying, the statement from the Union Home Minister himself that the entire state of Karnataka will ‘suffer from communal riots’ if the Indian Congress party wins the upcoming elections.
“Amit Shah’s statements may incite any class or community to commit any crime against any other class or community and indirectly threaten to try to mislead voters into voting for a particular party and candidate,” Congress express.
The opposition also claimed that at a poll rally in southern state on April 26, Adityanath said: “Congress is expert in appeasement politics as it supports banned organizations like PFI in Karnataka…. BJP The twin-engine government of the Uttar Pradesh outlawed PFI and broke its backbone. There have been no riots or curfews in Uttar Pradesh for the past six years”.
“We ask the ECI to ban Shri Yogi Adityanath from all campaigning until after the elections,” the Congress memo said.
The opposition also raised the issue of BJP candidate V Somanna from the Chamarajanagar and Varuna constituencies for allegedly offering a bribe of Rs 50 lakh to Janata Dal (secular) nominee Mallikarjun Swamyand and promising him government tools in return for his withdrawal of candidacy .
Congress called for the cancellation of Somana’s nomination for two seats. In Varuna, Somanna takes on Siddaramaiah, the candidate for chief minister in Congress.
Voting in the Karnataka Assembly is scheduled for May 10 and counting will begin on May 13. The Bharatiya Janata Party governs the southern states.
