New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) has taken its time on complaints lodged by the Congress against a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as a DTH platform called ‘NaMo TV’. However, a day before the launch of a publicity campaign by the Congress, the EC has objected to the lyrics of a song used in it.
This has left the Congress leaders fuming. Its national spokesperson, Salman Anees Soz expressed his angst through a tweet, questioning what was wrong with the lyrics. Mentioning the “objectionable” portions, he said they were clearly a reference to Modi and the BJP.
Dear ECI: What is objectionable about this? This is Modi & BJP.
“Tum jhooti chaalein chal ke, sheheron ke naam badal ke, noton ko kachra kar ke, aur har nirdhan ko chhal ke, nafrat ka dhuaan phailaake, bhai se bhai ladaake, kehte ho hum ko chun lo, ab tum bhi humaari sun lo” https://t.co/4MAikFp27r
— Salman Anees Soz (@SalmanSoz) April 7, 2019
The Hindi lyrics loosely mean: “After playing false moves, changing the name of cities, reducing the currency to scrap, cheating every poor person, spreading the smoke of hatred, making brothers fight each other, you say ‘elect us’, now you also listen to us.”
When in response to Soz’s query, a journalist pointed out that it was “nafrat ka dhuan (smoke of hatred)” that the EC was objecting to, the economic and political commentator asked: “What else is it? Is this worse than calling political opponents traitors? Besides, if BJP is not fanning hate, what else is it doing? What was Wayanad demography about?”
With the EC asking that this portion be removed, the Congress – which is running against time to release its publicity campaign – now has few options left.
Also read: Backstory: What Does NaMo TV Signify, and Other Intriguing Pre-Election Questions
No final decision on complaints against BJP, Modi
The party leaders are angry that the same kind of seriousness has not been shown in dealing with instances of violations by the BJP.
The Congress had earlier lodged a complaint with the EC about the launch of NaMo TV in the middle of the campaigning for elections. The EC sought the response of the broadcasting ministry, which, in turn, said that the channel was an ad platform launched by direct to home (DTH) service providers, thus no government permission was needed. It also stated that NaMo TV was not a regular channel.
Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal also stated that NaMo TV was a “special service” and thus did “not need a licence.”
However, the fact that the channel carried Modi’s image and initials as the logo, and was being used to air his election speeches and publicise his decisions, was seen as a clear bypassing of the norms of having a level playing field for elections.
Congress has also been angry about Doordharshan telecasting live election speeches of Modi – like the one it did on March 31.
Modi biopic hearing in SC on Monday
Similarly, the Congress earlier also objected to the release of a biopic on Modi PM Narendra Modi. Following the complaint, EC had sought a response from the producers. Though the release date has been postponed to April 11 from April 5, the final decision is pending.
The Commission consulted legal experts on April 5 and the matter is due to come up for hearing in the Supreme Court on April 8.