Civil society groups protest against EC
Demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi be barred from campaigning for 96 hours and an FIR lodged against him for his alleged hate speeches, several civil society groups on Saturday undertook a nationwide joint campaign, including in Karnataka, to demand action from the Election Commission of India, with the slogan “Grow a spine or resign”.
The activists in Bengaluru submitted a memorandum to the oce of the Chief Electoral Ocer for Karnataka holding the EC accountable for its “inaction” against violations of the MCC and laws during the Lok Sabha elections.
“In Karnataka, we had complained to the CEO about the BJP’s animated video clip on Muslim reservation and had demanded that it should be taken down. Although an FIR was led, it was taken down only after the elections in Karnataka. During the Lok Sabha poll campaign there were several hate speeches by BJP members which should have been taken cognizance of by the EC. We had demanded that the BJP Karnataka handle should be stopped from posting on social media. But, none of our demands were looked into,” said Vinay Sreenivasa, member of Bahutva Karnataka that was part of the joint campaign.
He alleged the EC has been acting only against MCC violations by Opposition parties and letting the ruling party o§ the hook.
Joint complaint
A joint complaint was submitted through the oces of the Chief Electoral Ocers in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Hyderabad, among others, and a letter was also submitted to the oce of the Chief Election
Commissioner in Delhi. This collective of organisations and concerned citizens also undertook a postcard campaign in which hundreds of postcards were sent to the Election Commission of India, Delhi, from various cities containing the image of a spine — thereby demanding the EC to “grow a spine or resign”.
“The Prime Minister has made several speeches which pit communities against one another and promote hatred between communities on religious lines. This amounts to a violation of the MCC, amounts to a corrupt practice under the Representation of the People Act and is a violation of the EC’s advisory to political parties. So far Mr. Modi, who is a star campaigner, has not even been served a notice,” the letter to EC said. It added that “no action had been taken against the BJP for distorting points from Opposition parties’ manifestos as well”.