TMC lodges plaint with EC against PM & BJP leaders

Kolkata: A day after Mahua Moitra accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders of repeatedly violating Model Code of Conduct (MCC), her party Trinamool Congress (TMC) lodged an official complaint with the Election Commission (EC), demanding its intervention in putting a stop to such activities which may “ultimately violate the basic structure of the Constitution”. In its complaint to the EC, TMC sought to remind: “It is noteworthy that the MCC was created and voluntarily adopted by political parties themselves, one of the foremost stakeholders in the election process.”

It alleged: “The BJP too, one of the political parties involved in the creation of the MCC, is now brazenly flouting it. It is disturbing to note that this flouting of the MCC by the Prime Minister himself is emboldening others in the BJP to do so with disdain.”

Trinamool told the EC: “We have written on three occasions of such violations, where we have reported directly about one to you and others to the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal. However, no reply or resolution with respect to such complaints have been received by us. No visible action has also been taken on the same.”

It alleged that since such breaches of MCC were committed by Narendra Modi and the ruling party at the Centre, “the EC refused to act strongly on the basis of such complaints”. The party claimed it had lodged its first complaint on March 21 where it accused PM Modi for deliberately and illegally appealing for votes along religious lines and thereby relying on ‘corrupt practices’ and flouting the provisions of the MCC and the Representation of the People Act, 1959. On March 28, it again complained to CEO, WB against PM Modi, BJP’s Krishnanagar candidate Amrita Roy and the BJP for “resorting to corrupt practices by bribing and creating undue influence through announcement of a new monetary beneficial scheme for the electorate”.

On May 4, it lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, against the BJP for publishing false, unverified, malicious allegations and stoking communal disharmony to appeal for votes on religious grounds.

TMC also said on May 10, PM Modi, in Telangana, had said that “Congress wants to make Hindus second-class citizens in their own country,” thereby deliberately and illegally appealing for votes along religious lines and relying on ‘corrupt practices’ and flouting the provisions of the MCC.

Trinamool requested the EC to “put a stop to such blatant violation of the MCC by the BJP and its leaders under the aegis of PM Modi. Failure to address these concerns would not only undermine the credibility of the electoral process but also erode public trust in the ECI and ultimately violate the basic structure of the Constitution.”