Former Congress leader says it is shameful that EC officials are not carrying out their salient duties…reports Asian Lite News
Weighing in on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charge at the Congress that it was planning to put a ‘Babri lock’ on the Ram Temple in Ayodhya if elected, Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal on Wednesday questioned if it was, at all, feasible.
Invoking expelled Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam’s big claim against Rahul Gandhi, that he planned to overturn the Supreme Court verdict on the Ram Temple; PM Modi urged people to give the BJP-led NDA “400 seats so that the Congress cannot put the Babri lock on the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya”.
The former Congress leader said, “Is it possible to put a Babri lock be put on the Ram Mandir? Ask the PM: is this is prediction? How is this possible? The Election Commission is vested with the powers to put a lock on such statements but it doesn’t do it. This statement should be deemed a clear violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The EC has the power to put a lock on such star campaigners but doesn’t have the guts to do so, as it is also a part of the ‘parivaar’ these days. They become a part of the family during elections. Who isn’t? All so-called independent agencies are with the family these days.”
Addressing a mega meeting at Dhar in Madhya Pradesh earlier, PM Modi said he wanted a 400-seat mandate for the BJP-led NDA to ensure the Congress does not bring back Article 370 in Kashmir and put a ‘Babri lock’ on the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Also responding to PM Modi’s statement that it was time for the people to decide if they stand with ‘vote jihad’ or ‘Ram Rajya’, Sibal said such statements can’t help him realise his goal of a ‘Viksit Bharat’.
“He (PM Modi) said the people should choose between ‘vote jihad’ and ‘Ram Rajya’. What kind of statement is this? Will this lead to ‘Vikas’ (development)? Will this give you ‘saath’ (cooperation) of all communities and sections? His public statements are in stark contrast with what he claims he stands for. This is unfortunate. You are the PM of the world’s largest democracy. Such statements can’t make us ‘Viksit Bharat’. I urge you not to air such views,” Sibal added.
Also hitting out at the Election Commission for not sending a notice to PM Modi over his statement on wealth redistribution, claiming that the Congress was planning to snatch mangalsutras off women’s necks; the Rajya Sabha MP said, “The EC will never act. It is committed to this government, to this party. It (EC notice for MCC violation) was sent to the party and not the individual who made that statement. Why did the EC not send the notice to him? It was not even a notice to the BJP but only a polite rap on its knuckles. What else can one expect from the Election Commission? It is shameful that the EC officials are not carrying out their salient duties.”
Priyanka slams Modi
Meanwhile, Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday replied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attack on her brother and former Congress President Rahul Gandhi where he had raised the Congress’ silence on Adani-Ambani and questioned if there was a secret deal between the Congress and the industrialists.
Priyanka Gandhi countered, accusing the BJP of favouring billionaires and transferring national assets to them.
“PM Modi is giving a lot of clarifications in the last few days. PM Modi calls my brother ‘Shehzada’ but he himself is ‘Shehenshah’. He is giving clarifications because people are seeing that the entire country’s property has been given to some billionaires. Airports, roads, coal factories, everything has been given to them,” Priyanka Gandhi said while speaking to ANI.
Priyanka said that the real face of the Prime Minister is coming out in front of the public, hence, he is giving such statements.
Reacting to BJP’s constant criticism of the Congress Manifesto, Priyanka Gandhi said that PM Modi dislikes it because it focuses solely on concrete plans for the betterment of various sectors such as youth, women, and addressing inflation, as well as returning the nation’s wealth.
“PM Modi does not like our manifesto because our manifesto only talks about work, about what we are going to do for the youth, women, inflation, returning the country’s wealth back to the people. That’s why the PM has been attacking our manifesto from the beginning. They are making such strange statements regarding our manifesto that we have to see for ourselves what it is, and where it came from…What are the real issues of the elections? Unemployment, inflation, oppression of women, the struggle of the people, the problems of the farmers, these are the issues elections should be fought on,” Priyanka Gandhi said.
Brushing off the controversy surrounding Sam Pitroda’s remark as “useless”, Priyanka Gandhi said, “PM Modi plays full toss on these useless issues. I challenge him to play full toss on employment, inflation, and atrocities on women, only then I will believe that yes someone has played.” (ANI)
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