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The Election Commission exchanged the complaints between the two parties while seeking their responses.
BJP chief JP Nadda and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. (File)
In the wake of complaints by BJP and Congress against one another in the ongoing assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday sent separate letters to BJP President JP Nadda and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, to sought their respective responses on the complaint of the other.
The Election Commission also exchanged the complaints between the two parties while seeking their responses by 1 pm on Monday.
The poll panel reminded the party presidents of an earlier advisory issued to them dated May 22, 2024 during Lok Sabha Elections, which asked them to keep a check on campaigners and leaders so that public decorum is not flouted and Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is followed in letter and spirit during election campaigning.
The EC’s action came after both the national parties (BJP and Congress) approached the poll commission to complain against each other during the campaigning in the ongoing state legislative assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
BJP’s Complaint To EC
The BJP earlier this week had filed a complaint before the Election Commission of India against senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accusing him of making false statements about the Indian Constitution in poll-bound Maharashtra and lying to “create differences between two states”.
Citing a November 6 speech by Gandhi, the BJP’s complaint to the Election Commission (EC) said he has committed “gross violation of electoral laws, model code of conduct (MCC), and criminal law”.
The BJP had further alleged that the Congress MP, by saying all plum projects were being diverted from Maharashtra to Gujarat, was trying to “incite” youths of the state, which is “immensely dangerous for the unity and integrity of the nation”.
In another complaint, the BJP had alleged that some Muslim bodies are trying to vitiate the poll atmosphere in Maharashtra and Jharkhand by appealing to their community members to vote for the INDIA bloc on the lines of religion.
Congress’ Complaint To EC
Meanwhile, the grand old party had also approached the ECI over a BJP advertisement targeting JMM-Congress-RJD alliance leaders, saying baseless allegations and statements were ascribed to them while portraying them in a negative light with the sole intent of propagating false narratives.
In a memorandum submitted to the Election Commission (EC), Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh urged the poll body to issue directives for the immediate takedown of all videos of the advertisement and consequently take urgent action against the BJP and its official Facebook handle for Jharkhand.
It is submitted that under the Model Code of Conduct, no political party, leader or candidate can engage in electoral campaigning that is based on false information about opposing political parties or candidates, Ramesh said.
In another complaint, the Congress alleged grounding of Rahul Gandhi’s helicopter in poll-bound Jharkhand and sought its urgent intervention in ensuring a level playing field in poll campaigning. Jairam Ramesh had alleged that Gandhi’s chopper was not allowed to take off due to restrictions leading to his public meetings getting either delayed or cancelled.
