EC bars A Raja from campaigning for 48 hrs

CHENNAI: The Election Commission of India on Thursday removed Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader A Raja as star campaigner and barred him from campaigning for 48 hours for derogatory comments against Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami.

The Commission issued the leader a notice reprimanding him for his comment, delisted him as a start campaigner and barred him from campaigning for 48 hours.

“The Commission also advises you to be watchful and not to make intemperate, indecent, derogatory, obscene remarks and lower the dignity of women in future during election campaign,” the order read.

Raja made a controversial remark on chief minister K Palaniswami’s

mother during an election rally on Saturday and was served a show-cause notice by the poll body on Tuesday. EC sought Raja’s reply, the EC had said that it is of the view that the “contents of the speech made by you are not only derogatory, but also obscene and lower the dignity of motherhood of women, which seems to be a serious violation of the provisions of Model Code of Conduct”.

Raja had responded to the Commission asking it to note of the full text of the speech. “In Tamil oratory, simile is a wellaccepted norm.

In my speech, evolution of the political heights and their means of MK Stalin and Edappadi K Palaniswami were compared through a simile as new born babies for the easy understanding of the masses,” Raja’s response to the EC had said, according to ANI. In its notice issued on Thursday, the Commission said that it hadn’t found the explanation offered by the leader satisfactory.

EC notice to Himanta

EC also sent a notice to BJP leader and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday for allegedly threatening Bodoland Peoples’ Party (BPF) Hagrama Mohilary.

The notice issued by EC secretary Ajay Kumar Varma said Sarma has prima facie violated the model code of conduct for candidates and political parties, in place during the ongoing assembly election, and directed him to “explain his position” by 5 pm on Friday. The notice was issued based on a complaint lodged by Congress on March 30 in which it alleged that Sarma had “openly threatened” to send Mohilary to jail by misusing National Investigation Agency (NIA).