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New Delhi: It was just another normal day in India’s marathon election campaign – senior leaders took potshots at each other, opposition leaders got their words mixed up, much to the glee of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and videos of possible electoral violations went viral.
Saturday was marked by the media highlighting verbal faux pas of Congress leaders, beginning with Shatrughan Sinha, and inviting backlash from the BJP.
Sinha, who joined the Congress this month, was speaking at a rally in Madhya Pradesh when he described Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, as a member of the “Congress family”.
“This Congress family, which ranges from Mahatma Gandhi to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, from Muhammad Ali Jinnah to Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi… Before them it is the party of Subhash Chandra Bose who played the most significant role in the freedom struggle. That is why I am here,” he said at Saunsar, Chhindwara on Friday.
His remarks snowballed the next day, with BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan accusing Sinha of speaking the language of Pakistan. The Chhindwara constituency will be going to polls in the fourth phase of voting, on April 29.
Referring to Sinha, BJP president Amit Shah claimed on Saturday that the Congress was praising Jinnah, who had divided the country.
Sinha claimed that it was just a “slip of the tongue” and he had wanted to mention Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad rather than Jinnah.
The actor-turned-politician caused the Pakistan founder to be among the top trends on Indian Twitter throughout the day.
Similarly, for a short while, Congress leader P.C. Chacko also featured in the trending terms on Twitter in the evening. ANI had reported that JKLF leader Yasin Malik, who is currently in custody, had shown more courage than BJP’s controversial candidate from Bhopal, Pragya Thakur, who is a terror accused in the Malegaon bomb blasts.
These verbal slips from Congress members have certainly been helpful for the BJP, which has largely driven its campaign on a nationalism platform.
Chacko had added that he did not support Malik’s ideology, but that was not enough for him to escape criticism by ruling party supporters on social media.
Thakur, who is out on bail, had claimed that 26/11 martyr Hemant Karkare had died due to her “curse”.
In Maharashtra, Thakur’s remarks continued to be campaign fodder for the opposition Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance. Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora called on the BJP to withdraw her candidature if the party truly respected the Maharashtra police.
Earlier, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had admitted that Thakur should not have commented on Karkare, but defended her candidature. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah have defended her nomination as well, but have not referred her remarks on Karkare.
For the first time, Karkare’s eldest daughter Jui Navare, has spoken in an extensive interview to Indian Express about her memories of her father.
Asked about Thakur’s comments, Navare, who lives in the United States, responded, “I do not want to dignify her or her statement. I only want to talk about Hemant Karkare. He was a role model and his name should be taken with dignity.”
Seventeen seats in Maharashtra, including six in Mumbai, will be taking part in the fourth phase of voting on April 29.
A highlight of campaigning in the state has been Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray’s rallies in which he ‘fact-checked’ Modi with the help of videos and slides.
Indicating that the rallies had made some impact, the state BJP held a press conference on Saturday to debunk Thackeray’s claims. “…Thackeray is picking these videos from unverified accounts which do not belong to the BJP. Why should we even respond to him when the videos are fake. He will receive the right answer from the voters,” said state BJP leader Ashish Shelar.
The Nationalist Congress Party had praised Thackeray’s campaign as having “won the hearts of people”. “We might have differences on several issues but our enemy is fascism, not Modi. The advent of fascism will kill democracy. Whoever fights fascism is a friend,” said NCP general secretary Jitendra Awhad. MNS has not fielded any candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.
Viral videos force action
Two more videos that went viral in two different parts of the country forced authorities to take action. These were not of politicians, but of purported electoral malpractice by ruling parties in the states.
In Kerala, television channels aired video of two polling booths in Kasargod constituency, which allegedly showed two women casting their votes twice. It also allegedly showed some local politicians standing inside the polling booth in violation of election guidelines. Local Congress leaders blamed the Left for casting bogus votes.
Also read: Narendra Modi and the Illusion of Communication
IANS quoted the state chief electoral officer, Tikka Ram Meena, as stating that report has been sought on the incident. “As soon as we receive an official complaint, we will do what needs to be done,” he said.
At the other end of India, a video of a police van purportedly being used to distribute food packets at a BJP rally in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district also created a furore on social media. The rally was being addressed by BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Saturday.
The Jammu and Kashmir police denied that the police vehicle shown in the video was used to deploy escort personnel of protected persons. “The vehicle has been withdrawn from said protected person and driver of the vehicle has been attached. Enquiry into the matter has been ordered under rules,” said a statement issued by J&K police.
Code violations
Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Saturday directed the police to register a case against East Delhi BJP candidate and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir. He has been accused of holding a rally on April 25 without permission, in violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
In Uttar Pradesh, another case was registered against Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan for violating the MCC through his comments in Rampur on April 25.
However, there are still no signs of whether the Election Commission will take a decision on the complaint against Modi for violating the MCC by seeking votes by invoking the armed forces at a rally on April 1.
At a press conference on Saturday, senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that it could approach the courts to seek redress for the EC’s delay in taking action on Modi and Shah.
“We have a right to approach the courts seeking action over model code violations… we can exercise that option … the mega policeman has turned a blind eye,” Singhvi said, adding silence can be construed as approval.
Also read: Jharkhand Prepares to Vote on the Burning Issues of a Young, Tribal State
He took potshots the EC by terming it the “Election Omission” and dubbed the MCC the “Modi code of conduct”.
On the last day of campaigning before fourth phase polling, Modi and Rahul Gandhi were both addressing multiple rallies in Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking at Kannauj, Modi hit out at the Mahagathbandhan of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal for their “opportunistic” alliance.
“Let’s not forget how Samajwadi Party showed disrespect to Ambedkar in Tirwa. The BSP has forgotten that. In pursuit of power and position, Mayawati (BSP chief) is embracing those who humiliated Babasaheb,” he said.
In Rae Bareli, Gandhi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi responded to Modi’s constant jibe that there had been no development in the last 70 years. “In the last 70 years, the foolishness of demonetisation and Gabbar Singh Tax was not done by anyone,” Gandhi said. He added that there has been only one “prime minister who stole from the poor and his name is Narendra Modi”.
