New Delhi, Apr 23 (UNI) The Congress on Tuesday demanded that the Election Commission bar Prime Minister Narendra Modi from campaigning for 48 to 72 hours for violating the Model Code of Conduct by taking out a long procession and delivering a speech after casting his vote in Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency.
A delegation of the Congress, led by senior lawyer and party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, met the EC officials and submitted a memorandum to the commission in this regard.
Talking to reporters after meeting the EC, Mr Singhvi said, 'today after casting his vote, PM took out a long procession and delivered a speech. There has never been such a clear violation of MCC.’’
Calling him a ‘habitual offender’, Mr Singhvi said, 'Mr Modi is at the highest position in the country which entails on him a lot of responsibility. We told EC that it is the third or fourth time that the PM has deliberately violated the Model Code of Conduct in a blatant manner.
Yesterday we submitted a written complaint to the EC that whenever he (PM) casts his vote, he carries out a procession in violation of the MCC. In our letter we told the EC that he did the same thing in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and also in the 2017 UP assembly polls. We told him he is an habitual offender. He does not care for rules.’’
Mr Singhvi said that they showed the EC a video of the procession carried out by the PM on Tuesday after casting his vote.
'We showed the EC a video of PM campaigning. We urged that a decision on the matter be taken at the earliest.
We appealed to EC to bar him from campaigning for 48-72 hours,’’he said.
The Congress leader accused the EC of delay in action on their complaint against the PM made on April 12 for seeking votes in the name of the Balakot strikes.
He also charged BJP chief Amit Shah with trying to garner votes in the name of Balakot strikes and demanded that he be barred from campaigning for 72 hours.
UNI AR SD