The Election Commission on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not violate the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in his comments at a public speech in Maharashtra’s Wardha district on April 1.
“In a matter related to a complaint concerning the alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct in a speech delivered by Narendra Modi at Wardha, Maharashtra on April 1, 2019, a detailed report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra was obtained,” read a notice by the commission.
The poll watchdog said it had examined the matter in detail in accordance with the extant guidelines of the MCC and the report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra.
“Accordingly, Commission is of the considered view that in this matter no such violation has been noticed,” the apex poll body’s order said.
The Congress on April 5 moved the EC against Modi’s speech alleging that the comments were ‘hateful and divisive’.
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In his Wardha rally, Modi had taken a veiled jibe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying, “Congress has done the sin of defaming our more than 5,000 years old culture. The peaceful Hindu society which considers the whole world as its family was called a terrorist. That is why they have been forced to run away from a majority seat (Amethi) and go to a minority seat (Wayanad).”
“When Sushil Kumar Shinde was a minister, he had spoken about Hindu terrorism from the land of Maharashtra. However, a few days ago, the court’s decision came which exposed the Congress conspiracy in front of the country. Congress has insulted Hindus,” PM Modi added.
While on the other hand, the Election Commission has barred Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan from election campaigning for 48 hours starting from 6 am on Wednesday for violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) with his ‘highly provocative’ speeches.