Karnataka Polls: Battle Moves To EC As BJP Seeks Campaigning Ban On Kharge, Congress On Yogi And Shah

BJP urged EC to bar Kharge from campaigning for his remark against PM Modi, while Congress requested EC to bar Shah, Yogi from campaigning for their alleged statements against the minority community.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge during poll campaiging in Karnataka.

New Delhi: The electoral battle between ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress in poll-bound Karnataka picked up tempo as both parties moved the Election Commission on Friday. The BJP urged the EC to file a criminal case against Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and bar him from campaigning for his "poisonous snake" remark at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Stepping up its attack, the Congress, too, moved EC, requesting it to bar Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from campaigning for their alleged statements against the minority community.

Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, who led a BJP delegation to the Election Commission, said Kharge's comment was not a slip of the tongue but part of the party’s "hate politics". He also accused the grand old party of trying to spread disharmony and provoke people ahead of the polls.

The BJP's memorandum to the poll watchdog said, "Election Commission is empowered under Article 324 of the Constitution of India to ensure that no one indulges in making false, unverified, baseless allegations to violate electoral laws and indulge in behaviour which tear apart the sanctity of the MCC."

"Kharge should be barred from campaigning in Karnataka elections so as to contain the spread of such acrimonious campaign and set an example that the Commission will not brook any violation of MCC or other laws of the land," it added.

"Use of such vulgar and abusive language to tarnish the image of a respected prime minister clearly shows the level to which the Congress has plummeted.... Such perverse pronouncements, if not checked effectively, will not only vitiate the electoral atmosphere, but will also further encourage the Congress rank and file in lowering the levels of propriety of the quality of political discourse," the memorandum said.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Congress leaders, including Abhishek Singhvi, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Mukul Wasnik, met the chief election commissioner and demanded that Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath be not allowed to campaign as they made "false", "partisan" and "communal" statements in Karnataka with a view to seek electoral gains.

"We have just finished a very productive and important meeting with the EC. We complained specifically about the highly objectionable, blatantly partisan, communal and false statements coming from top BJP leadership, in particular Home Minister Amit Shah and the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. They have made statements clearly against the minority community.... We have asked for a ban on campaigning by such persons,” news agency PTI quoted Singhvi as saying.