Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accused of violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by deliberately asking for votes in the name of “Gods and places of worship” during an election rally in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh. Therefore a plea was filed against him to the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking to disqualify PM Narendra Modi to contest elections for six years under the Representation of People Act. However, the Delhi High Court rejected the plea on Monday citing it as “thoroughly misconceived” and justified the decision stating that the plea is devoid of any merits.
What does the plea say?
The petitioner, Advocate Anand S Jondhale filed a plea based on the Pilibhit speech of PM Modi where he was allegedly seeking votes in the name of Hindu and Sikh deities and places of worship. Further, he also deliberately made several comments against the opposition and Muslims referring to them as “infiltrators” and “those having many children.”
He claimed to have approached the ECI against Modi to disqualify him from contesting elections for six years under section 153A (promoting enmity between groups) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) but no action was taken from them.
“This statement of Respondent No.2 [Modi] creating hatred by words, either spoken or written or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities,” the plea said.
What did PM Modi speech include?
PM Modi while addressing a poll rally on April 9th at Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh took a jibe at Congress and the INDIA alliance and said, “Congress is deeply rooted in appeasement, seemingly unable to break free. Their manifesto resembles more of the Muslim League’s than their own. Under the pressure of appeasement, both Congress and the Samajwadi Party oppose the CAA. If India doesn’t grant citizenship to persecuted Hindu and Sikh brothers fleeing foreign atrocities, who will? CAA stands to benefit numerous families in Pilibhit, yet Congress and Samajwadi Party oppose it.”
He affirmed, “It’s the BJP that stands firmly with Sikhs, understanding their sentiments. We take pride in the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor serving millions of Sikh pilgrims. Removing GST on langar items, granting FCRA registration for Sri Harmandir Sahib, celebrating Veer Bal Diwas, honoring the Sahibzadas’ bravery, and commemorating important Sikh festivals like the 550th Prakash Parv of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, 400th Prakash Parv of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji, and 350th Prakash Parv of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.”
Here is the full video of his speech at Pilibhit!
At a rally in the western state of Rajasthan, Modi said that when the Congress party was in government, “they said Muslims have the first right over the country’s resources.” If it returns to power, the party “will gather all your wealth and distribute it among those who have more children,” he said as the crowd applauded.
“They will distribute it among infiltrators,” he continued, saying, “Do you think your hard-earned money should be given to infiltrators?
The High Court rejects the petition
Justice Sachin Datta, a single bench judge of the High Court rejected the petition stating that ECI is an independent body and the High Court cannot direct the commission to take a particular stance on the petition.
“The present writ petition is thoroughly misconceived as the petitioner has submitted his complaint dated April 10, 2024, to the ECI and there is no occasion for the petitioner to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this court, even prior to disposal of the said complaint by the ECI. Secondly, the prayer presupposes that there had been a violation of the Model Code of Conduct and compendium of instructions. This presupposition is completely unjustified,” Justice Datta said.
“The petition is devoid of any merits and therefore dismissed”, he asserted.
Advocate Siddhant Kumar who presented the ECI stated that the commission receives similar kinds of petitions daily and actions are taken according to the law. However, he assured that the petition complaint would be duly looked upon and actions would be taken appropriately.
The Lok Sabha elections are in full swing and the third phase of voting is scheduled to be held on May 7 while the counting of votes will be held on June 4.
