On May 8, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) moved a petition before the Madras High Court urging the Court to direct the Election Commission of India (ECI) to call for an explanation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly making hate speeches during the ongoing election season.
The petition submitted by the TNCC claims that despite the fact that the ECI received several complaints regarding hate speeches made by PM Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party has only received one show-cause notice from the ECI. Even in the said notice, the ECI has refrained from taking direct aim at Narendra Modi. According to the appeal, Modi is the “individual culprit” behind the hate statements.
“Mr. Modi who is solely responsible for these inflammatory remarks, derogative and divisive speeches. This leniency of the ECI sends a wrong signal to the citizens and undermines the integrity of our nation’s whole electoral process,” the plea states, as a report in LiveLaw.
The aforementioned matter was mentioned before the vacation Bench of Justices AD Jagadish Chandira and R Kalaimathi today. The Bench, however, asked the petitioner to get the matter numbered by the Registry first.
Notably, the said petition comes after a number of contentious and divisive speeches have been given by PM Modi during election rallies across India. One such speech was delivered by PM Modi on April 21 in Banswara, Rajasthan. In the said speech, PM Modi had referred to the Muslim community as “infiltrators” and “those with more children.” The details on the same can be read here.
Many complaints had been moved by opposition parties, civil society organisations and citizens to the ECI against the said speech. Four days pursuant to the said speech, the ECI had issued a notice to the Bharatiya Janata Party and sought a response from the party President JP Nadda. The details of the same can be read here. While the deadline for filing the reply was April 29, BJP has, till now, twice asked for more time. Meanwhile, PM Modi has continued giving partisan and misleading election speeches since then, against which more complaints had been sent to the ECI.
Details of the Petition:
The petition has been filed by the TNCC through its President, K Selvaperunthagai. The petitioner has claimed that the BJP is attempting to win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by hook or by crook, and therefore, was indulging in a divisive campaign along communal lines.
As per the report of Bar&Bench, the petitioner pointedly stated that the Prime Minister himself had termed Muslims as “infiltrators” and those who “have more children.” Protest was also registered to Modi’s reported remark that the “opposition’s victory would mean Hindus’ wealth going into Muslim’s hands.” As per the report of Bar & Bench, the petitioners have also cited other recent speeches made by PM Modi in their plea says, highlighting that the said speeches had been replete with fabrications and abusive language with the aim of discrediting the Congress Party’s manifesto and its credibility without any iota of truth.
The main prayer of the is that the Court should demand the ECI seek an explanation from Modi for such inflammatory election speeches. As per the plea, such leniency shown by the ECI over such grim and divisive tactics send a wrong signal to the citizens and undermines the whole electoral process.
“Mr. Modi’s derogatory remarks about specific communities such as Muslims, including his recent comments regarding the mangal-sutra and birth rates among Muslims, are not only disrespectful but also shameful and treacherous as they fuel communal tensions and sow division among our people. These communal tensions are not exclusive to the States among which the Prime Minister, Mr. Modi has made these speeches, but rather, the blatant disrespect of Muslims were targeted to all the Muslims residing all over India. Mr. Modi is trying to create fear psychosis in the minds of the people and trying to whip up communal passions. He wants Indian citizen among themselves to fight and shed blood in the streets of India to force the majority people to vote for BJP,” the plea states.
In addition to this, the TNCC has also urged the Court to take actions to curb false, derogatory statements and to restrain PM Modi from making further misleading and derogatory statements against Congress Election Manifesto in order to ensure a level playing field for all the political parties to campaign in a free and fair manner.
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