To
Shri Rajiv Kumar
Chief Election Commissioner
Shri Gyanesh Kumar
Election Commissioner
Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu
Election Commissioner
Dear Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, S/Shri Gyanesh Kumar/ Rajiv Kumar,
I hope that the Commission, with its elaborate machinery maintained at an enormous cost to the tax-payer, is vigilant enough to have come to know that Prime Minister Modi once again made a statement, this time at Hospet in Karnataka, prima facie invoking religion for votes, violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) [https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/reject-congress-its-allies-as-they-did-not-attend-pran-pratishtha-at-ram-mandir-says-modi/article68118129.ece]
At an election rally, Prime Minister Modi is reported to have made the following statement:
“Mr. Modi also said that the Congress and its allies have rejected the invitation to the inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and called upon the people to reject them in the elections”
I along with several others have been writing to the Commission to take prompt action against any political party, especially their star campaigners, for violating the MCC, in particular, invoking religion for votes, as such statements tend to divide the society and hurt its cohesion in an irreversible manner.
My last letter dated 26th April, 2024 (https://countercurrents.org/2024/04/notices-issued-by-the-election-commission-to-bjp-and-congress-toolittle-too-late-why-has-the-commission-ignored-other-serious-mcc-violations/) points out how the Commission had remained totally silent and unresponsive to such prima facie MCC violations committed by Shri Modi, even after the lapse of one month. Encouraged by the Commission’s unwillingness, inaction and indifference to such serious MCC violations, not only Shri Modi but also others seem to be taking the Commission for granted and commit more and more violations, giving one the impression that the Commission, unmindful of its mandate under Article 324, has shown its inability to act against the star campaigners of political parties, especially the BJP.
May I, at the cost of repetition, remind the Commission of its own MCC Manual, of which I have reproduced Paragraph 2.2.2 below?“
Meanwhile, the situation changed. Based on its experience of conducting elections in varied scenario, the Election Commission now maintains that bringing Model Code on the statute book would be a self-defeating measure, because during elections, any violation of Model Code warrants a quick decision and remedial measure, which may not be possible if the matters are taken to the courts and become the subject of examination in a regular judicial process. It is felt that any judicial pronouncement after the election is already over, would have little relevance, and the Election Commission has therefore withdrawn its proposal to give Model Code a statutory backing. The Election Commission has been repeatedly reiterating its view that Model Code will lose its whole efficacy if all its provisions are converted into electoral offences or corrupt practices”
Is it not ironic that the Commission, instead of addressing MCC violations promptly and bringing the violators to book without delay, is committing a breach of its own guidelines, making a mockery of the same?
I hope that the Commission would not continue breaching the mandate under Article 324 and letting the people of the country down.
Yours sincerely,
E A S Sarma
Former Secretary to the Government of India
Visakhapatnam
