Election Commission of India Issues Notices to Arvind Kejriwal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over Remarks on PM Modi
The poll panel has asked Kejriwal and Priyanka to clarify their claims by Thursday in showcause letters sent to them on Tuesday.
In response to purported remarks that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was associated with industrialists, the Election Commission of India (EC) on Tuesday sent notices to AAP national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal as well as Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Priyanka and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma have not yet been punished or cleared by the electoral tribunal for the notices it handed them last month. The notice was sent to Priyanka for implying that the Prime Minister was being frugal with his donations to temples, and Sarma for allegedly making disparaging statements against a minister from a minority group in Chhattisgarh. Both the Mizoram elections and the Chhattisgarh election's first round have already ended.
The Election Commission (EC) requested Kejriwal and Priyanka to clarify their claims by Thursday in showcause letters they sent them on Tuesday in response to BJP objections.
The poll panel determined that Kejriwal's comments, which connected the Prime Minister to businessman Gautam Adani, were defamatory. The Parliamentary Ethics Committee is also investigating Mahua Moitra, a member of the Trinamul parliament, for reportedly accepting payments from a rival industrialist in exchange for damaging the Adani group's chances.
Kejriwal is being accused of breaking many laws, including the Model Code of Conduct, sections 171G, 499, and 501 of the Indian Penal Code, and section 123(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which all prohibit making false or defamatory comments.
Two Hindi videos on the AAP's X (formerly Twitter) page are under the EC's scrutiny. In the first, published on November 8 and captioned "Modi's interesting routine," there is a mention of a person consuming thousands of mushrooms, posing for photos while practicing yoga, and accepting "orders from Adani ji."
The second, which was uploaded the next day, shows a fictitious poster with the title "Bharatiya Jumla Party Presents" and two images: one of Adani in the background and a smaller one of the prime minister with the words "Sarkar Janta Ke Liye Nahi Malik Ke Liye Kaam Karte Hain" and "Scam 2023 and The Modi Adani Story" above.
A notice has been sent to Priyanka over her remarks made on November 10 at Sanwer, Madhya Pradesh, where she stated: "Modi ji, this was Bhel which was helping the country prosper and providing jobs to us. What made you gift it to your powerful industrialist acquaintances?
The Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (Bhel) is not going to be privatized, as the Modi administration has consistently stated. Trade unions recently challenged Bhel and an Italian company's joint venture to produce Vande Bharat coaches.
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