Congress candidate from South Mumbai, Milind Deora, has been found guilty of violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by the Maharashtra state election commission. He has been found guilty of objectionable comments he had made against the Shiv Sena invoking the Jain Community.
A complaint was received against Deora for a speech he made on the 2nd of April in Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar. He had said, “Shiv Sena has been against minorities. A few years ago, the party insulted Jains by cooking meet outside a Jain temple during Paryushana festival. Remember, you have to teach them a lesson through your votes.”
The returning officer has asked for suitable action against Deora for his remarks. The Election Commission has sought a reply from the Congress candidate demanding an explanation from him on how he has not violated the MCC.
The Congress party has been trying hard to polarize the elections along religious lines and ensure that minority communities vote en masse for them. Recently, controversial politician Navjot Singh Sidhu had appealed to the Muslim community to vote unitedly for Congress.
Deora was also in the news yesterday for a poll campaign video which had industrialist Mukesh Ambani endorsing Deora.
He had said, “I am warning you, my Muslim brothers, you are nearly 64% of the total population here. They are dividing you by bringing people like Owaisi. They will come up with a new party to divide the Hindus and the Muslims. However, The majority community (Hindus) of the country are a minority in this constituency, if you (Muslims) unite together and vote then Modi and the BJP will be decimated.”
