New Delhi, May 8 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday negated Indian National Congress MP Sushmita Dev's petition seeking action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah for violation of the model code of conduct by delivering alleged hate speeches during the campaign for the 17th Lok Sabha.
Ms Dev had filed an additional affidavit before the apex court yesterday, averring that the respondent, Election Commission of India, failed to appreciate that the 'hate speeches' delivered by Mr Narendra Modi and Mr Amit Shah were 'corrupt practices' under Section 123A of the Representation of People Act.
Headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, the bench ruled that it could not interfere with the clean chits of the Election Commission to the Premier and Mr Shah because the plaintiff had only prayed for a direction to the poll panel to act on the Congress party's complaint.
EC domain
The decision on the complaint fell, the bench affirmed, in the domain of the Election Commission.
If the Congress party desires, it can, the apex court held, file separate petitions challenging each clean chit to PM Modi and Mr Shah as these constitute individual cases.
The main Opposition party contended that the EC gave a clean chit to Mr Modi and Mr Amit Shah for certain speeches that 'violated' the model code of conduct. It submitted that similar speeches by others had invited EC wrath but strangely the poll panel was silent on the two senior BJP leaders.
Ms Dev, the Silchar, Assam, MP had approached the Supreme Court seeking strict and necessary action against the BJP leaders for their alleged hate speeches which, she asserted, were a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
The poll panel had, however, given a clean chit to both the ruling party statesmen on all cases.
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