The Election Commission of India (ECI) has urged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress to refrain from campaigning along caste, community, language, and religious lines, asserting that the nation’s socio-cultural fabric should not be compromised during elections.
The directive comes nearly a month after the Election Commission issued a notice to BJP president J P Nadda following allegations from the Opposition that Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a divisive speech in Rajasthan’s Banswara. The poll body dismissed Nadda’s defence and instructed him and other prominent BJP campaigners to avoid religious and communal rhetoric in their campaigns.
On April 21, in Rajasthan’s Banswara, the PM claimed the Congress planned to seize and redistribute private wealth to Muslims, labelling them “infiltrators” and “those who have more children”.
Similarly, a notice was sent to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in response to complaints filed by the BJP against him and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding their remarks. The Election Commission rejected Kharge’s defence as well and asked the Congress to comply with its 2019 advisory to refrain from politicising the Armed forces and making statements. The EC asked the Congress “not to make potentially divisive statements regarding the socio-economic composition of Defence forces”.
It also asked Kharge to convey to the star campaigners not to make statements that give a “false impression such as that the Constitution of India may be abolished or sold”.
The Election Commission instructed both national party presidents to issue formal instructions to their star campaigners, urging them to exercise caution in their rhetoric and maintain decorum during campaigning.
The Model Code of Conduct, under which general elections are held in India, states, “No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic.”
India has voted to choose their Lok Sabha representatives in five out of the seven phases. The sixth and seventh elections are scheduled for May 25 and June 1 respectively. Counting of votes will be on June 4.