No PM has so brazenly indulged in an unethical & undemocratic act: TMC
Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has lodged a formal complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) alleging gross violation of democratic ethics and the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Bangladesh.
TMC has demanded that the ECI should not only censure Modi but also take deterrent punitive action against him so that he does not repeat such 'misconduct' in future.
"…..the political motive behind Modi's visit to Orakandi in Bangladesh is doubly proven by the fact that he took along with him Santanu Thakur, a BJP MP from Bengal, who holds no official position in the Government of India. No MP or representative from Trinamool Congress or other parties was invited to accompany the PM. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has thus grossly misused his official position to interfere from foreign soil in the election process in West Bengal," read the letter by TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien.
TMC has stated in its letter addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora that Modi's programmes in Bangladesh on March 27 had nothing to do with either the 50th anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh or the birth centenary of 'Bangabandhu'.
"Rather, they were solely and exclusively intended to influence the voting pattern in certain constituencies in the ongoing elections to the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal. No Indian Prime Minister has so brazenly indulged in an unethical and undemocratic act, and violated the Model Code of Conduct, by indirectly campaigning for his party from foreign soil," the letter pointed out. According to TMC, the Prime Minister visited a number of religious shrines in Bangladesh.
Modi visited Bangladesh on March 26 and 27 after being invited to participate in the celebrations on March 26 to mark the 50th anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh as well as the birth centenary of 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Saturday had accused Modi of violating the MCC by visiting Bangladesh at a time when Assembly elections were being held in Bengal.
Banerjee had accused the Prime Minister of 'begging' for votes in Bangladesh and doing 'vote marketing' and added that the government should cancel his visa just as it cancelled the visa of Bangladeshi actor Ferdous Ahmed after he attended a TMC rally in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
