Congress accuses Election Commission of becoming puppet in hands of PM Modi

NewsBharati    14-Dec-2017
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New Delhi, December 14: Amidst half of Gujarat is voting for the 2nd phase of the Assembly polls on Thursday, the Congress party has launched a staunch criticism against Election Commission, BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Notably, the Congress party criticized Election Commission and accused the poll body of becoming a puppet in the hands of PM Modi.

 

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala while addressing a press conference today accused Election Commission of becoming a puppet in the hands of PM Modi who is breaking rules in the last bid to save the BJP in Gujarat.

The Congress while alleging the poll body of not taking any actions the BJP and PM Modi said that the Election Commission was turning a blind eye to democratic and constitutional norms being violated by the ruling party openly and brazenly. During the press conference, Congress also objected to PM Modi’s roadshow after he voted in Ahmedabad which it termed as a blatant violation of the model code of conduct.


Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said, “PM Modi’s roadshow was an election campaign that clearly violated the model code of conduct.” “The Election Commission is working under pressure from the Prime Minister and PMO,” Gehlot added.

Meanwhile, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “If any shame is left in the Election Commission, it should act on the Congress complaints.” He said PM Modi was brazenly violating constitutional norms and the poll body was silent.

Surjewala said that the EC has set different standards for the BJP and the Congress and asked, “What is the reason for the Election Commission to behave like a front organization of the BJP?” Surjewala in the press conference further said that the Congress asked the poll panel about its complaints and was told that they would be looked into after 5 pm.after the end of the second and final phase of Gujarat election.


Criticizing the Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti, Surjewala said AK Joti was Chief Secretary to PM Modi when he was CM of Gujarat is still acting as the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister. “This is shameful for the Election Commission,” he added.

Earlier, on Wednesday Surjewala said that the way the BJP was behaving clearly indicated that Modi had conceded defeat in Gujarat. “The PM’s violations are not seen by the EC. Its action amounts to police saying they have not seen a murder taking place in front of their eyes unless somebody comes up with an FIR,” he added.

Importantly, the voting will continue till 5 pm in more than 25,000 polling stations. In the second and final phase of elections, 93 constituencies spread across 14 districts in north and central Gujarat is in the polls. A total of 851 candidates are in the fray and over 2.22 lakh people will take part in the election to decide their fate. The BJP has fielded 93 candidates for this phase, while Congress has fielded only 91. In the first phase, 68 percent voting was done while the results will be declared on 18th of December this year. In the 2012 assembly polls, the BJP won 115 seats, while the Congress won 61.