Introduction
Since April 21, the day when Prime Minister Modi delivered his controversial hate speech at Banswara rally, referring to Muslims as “intruders” and those with “more children”, there has been a flurry of complaints and criticism against the Prime Minister. Pertinently, in his speech, Modi had accused the opposition Congress party of willing to redistribute (Hindu) mothers’ and sisters’ wealth, particularly, gold and Mangalsutra, to Muslims.
CPI(M) office bearers Brinda Karat and Pushpinder Singh on April 22 filed a complaint with Mandir Marg police station, asking the latter to file the FIR under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 153A (promoting enmity of ground of religion), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 298 (uttering words with intent to wound religious feelings), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 505 (statements conducive to public mischief), but as Mandir Marg police station refused to accept their complaint, they sent it to Commissioner of Police, Delhi.
In a separate complaint to ECI, VCK’s MP from Chidambaram, Thirumavalavan Thol, has highlighted how the speech violates Model Code of Conduct, Representation of People Act, and ECI advisory dated March 1 for maintaining decorum by political parties and candidates.
Notably, four complaints have already been sent to Election Commission (EC) by CJP, ADR’s Jagdeep Chhokar, CPIM, and citizens collective of over 2200 citizens during the last couple of days, asking the EC to take appropriate action against the speaker.
Details about the complaints
In their complaint, CPI(M) has requested the police to register FIR against the Prime Minister, noting that “Sh. Modi intentionally and strategically used anti-Muslim tropes in order to convey an impression to the Hindu community that their property was under threat, as the assets of the community…would be distributed to members of the Muslim community by the Congress party. This has the effect of targeting individuals based on their membership of a group and exposes the group to hatred. It is utterly illegal to appeal for votes using hate speech as the Prime Minister has done.” It also cited the judgement delivered in Babu Rao Patel v. Delhi (Administration) (1980) 2 SCC 402, to underscore the pushback against communalism by the apex constitutional court of the country.
The complaint further argued that the speech promotes enmity between different communities and is threat to the national integrity of the country, especially to the unity of its citizens. It observed that our nation espouses values of secularism and equality for all its citizens, and the hate speech goes against these values. Furthermore, the speech propagates stereotypes against Muslims, vilifying the community, religion, and causing them immense harm, in addition to propagating false fear of Hindu marginalisation. Contextualising the incident, it concluded that “Given the context of the speech as part of campaigning, and given the impending elections, the words of the PM may well be inflammatory and lead to disastrous consequences…No citizen, no matter how high his position is above the law. It is therefore incumbent on you to file an FIR under the relevant provisions mentioned, against the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narender Modi.”
In a separate complaint filed by VCK MP Thirumavalavan Thol to Election Commission, it notes that the speech made by the PM resorts to “inflammatory remarks, resorting to blatant lies, crudeness, and communal dog-whistling against the Muslim community”, violating Model Code of Conduct (MCC), Section 123(3A) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 (RPA), and ECI issued advisory to political parties and candidates for maintaining decorum during the polls. It also highlights the trend of communal speeches made by the Prime Minister and observes that “It is alarming that this communal rhetoric follows a pattern in Shri Modi’s recent speeches, where he repeatedly invokes religious sentiments to garner support…We strongly condemn Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s divisive rhetoric and urge the Election Commission of India to take immediate and strict action against him.” The complaint further remarks that such speeches are “disgraceful” and given with the aim of sowing “hatred and discord” among citizens, which should not be tolerated in a democratic setup. It also urged the ECI to strictly enforce the Model Code of Conduct to ensure that such speeches are not tolerated or repeated in the future.
Related:
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