The Indian National Congress on Wednesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 48-hour meditation trip in Kanyakumari from May 30 is an attempt to “circumvent” the silence period restrictions and urged the Election Commission to ensure that it is not broadcast in the media as it violates the Model Code of Conduct.
A delegation led by Indian National Congress Party leaders Randeep Surjewala, Abhishek Singhvi and Syed Nasir Hussain met the Election Commission and submitted a memorandum in this regard along with 27 other complaints alleging violations of the Model Code by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the past few days.
The Indian National Congress alleged that the Prime Minister’s meditation programme at the ‘Dhyan Mandapam’ in Kanyakumari was a “blatant violation” of the silence period ahead of the June 1 polls in Modi’s Varanasi constituency and other assembly constituencies.
The Opposition alleged that this was also in violation of the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and the Representation of People Act, 1951.
On May 28, multiple media outlets reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit Kanyakumari and undertake a 48-hour meditation starting May 30, the paper said.
“The visit will be widely televised and will be broadcast during the 48-hour silence period in the Varanasi constituency where Narendra Modi is contesting,” said the Congress memo submitted to the Election Commission.
“Through the meditation tour, Narendra Modi is trying to circumvent the 48-hour silence period and undue use of the ethno-cultural significance of the chosen place to strengthen his election campaign and maximize his vote share. This is in violation of the Representation of People Act and the Model Code of Conduct,” the party also said.
This also violates the directives on “dos and don’ts” that political parties and candidates must adhere to during elections, according to the memorandum.
“The PM will start his meditation on the evening of May 30 and we are not happy about it. His declaration is in violation of the MCC as we all know that the silent period will start on May 30,” he said.
“The Prime Minister can start meditating after 24-48 hours, i.e. from June 1 evening. Otherwise, if the Prime Minister wants to meditate from May 30, the Election Commission should ensure that this is not broadcast on television or in the print media,” Singhvi told reporters after the delegation met Central Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and other Election Commissioners.
“We hope that the ECI takes immediate action to ensure that the live broadcast of ‘Sarva Goshit Bhagwan’ (self-proclaimed God) meditation at the Vivekananda Memorial does not take place as it is a blatant and clear violation of the Model Code of Conduct,” Indian National Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders said after the climax of the Lok Sabha election campaign on May 30, Modi would meditate at the Rock Memorial, a monument built in honour of Swami Vivekananda.
He will meditate from the evening of May 30 to the evening of June 1 at the Dhyan Mandapam, the spot where Vivekananda, a spiritual icon revered by PM Modi, is believed to have had a divine vision of “Bharat Mata”, BJP leaders said.
Indian National Congress leaders also complained about the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) giving “exemptions” to renewable energy plants in SEZs and EOUs from complying with the mandatory guidelines laid down for “onshore wind power projects”.
“Such exemptions have great potential to distort the level playing field in the ongoing elections,” the party said.
The BJP also complained about alleged violations of the Model Code by the prime minister and other Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The Opposition claimed that the Prime Minister’s remarks at an election rally in Patiala, Punjab, in which he made a number of allegations about the Indian National Congress to soften the image of the Opposition, were in violation of the MCC.
“He also made baseless allegations that the INC was responsible for the partition and that the INC was opposed to grant of citizenship to members of the Sikh community under the CAA 2019 and attempted to infuriate and mislead voters and unfairly influence them to abstain from voting for the INC,” it was alleged.
The Congress party also accused Himanta Biswa Sarma of “explicitly calling for votes on the basis of religion while falsely portraying the INC as a sectarian, biased party which does not abide by the Constitution in letter or spirit”.
The Opposition also alleged that Shah, in his election speech in Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, had repeated the claim that the BJP and its allies are “Rama Bhakts (devotees of Lord Rama)”, while at the same time claiming that the INC and its allies are “those who fire on devotees of Lord Rama”.
“Amit Shah had also made prejudiced statements describing members of certain religious minorities as ‘ghuspatiye’ (infiltrators),” the council said.
The paper alleged that the BJP leader “repeated baseless allegations that the INC is trying to take away reservation rights from members of the SC, ST and OBC communities and reserve its ‘vote base’ for members of particular religious communities.”
The BJP also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of misusing state machinery in Uttar Pradesh by using state government buses to transport supporters to polling centres.
“Such use of government resources by the ruling party violates the provisions of the Model Code and the principle of a level playing field,” the opposition argued.
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