Hearing a petition filed by Congress MP Sushmita Dev against the alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct by PM Modi and Amit Shah, the apex court directed the Election Commission to take appropriate action that it deems fit. The plea against alleged poll code violation and EC’s supposed inaction was filed yesterday in the Supreme Court by the Congress legislator.
Congress MP, Sushmita Dev, has filed a petition before the Supreme Court, seeking urgent and necessary directions to the Election Commission to take a decision on the complaints filed against PM Modi & BJP President Amit Shah over alleged violations of electoral laws (File pic) pic.twitter.com/z9bRKmevjq
— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2019
The bench comprising of CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice KM Joseph heard the plea filed by Congress legislator and issued a notice to the Election commission. In the notice, the Court mentioned that the poll panel will have full liberty to pass any appropriate orders that it deems fit. The Court has also listed the hearing of the matter on Thursday.
Representing the petitioner Dev, counsel Sunil Fernandes requested the Court to instruct the Election Commission to expeditiously take action against the MCC violators. According to advocate Fernandes, the poll panel has been slow to act on multiple complaints of ‘frequent and habitual’ MCC violations by Modi and Shah. The petitioner in her plea has contended multiple violations of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 and the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 by Modi and Shah. She has alleged that the Election Commission hasn’t responded to her grievances.
Asserting that the Election Commission’s lack of action and selective censure when it comes to complaints filed against PM Modi and Amit Shah, the petitioner insinuated that such behaviour by the poll panel betrays its tacit endorsement of Modi’s and Shah’s conduct, in effect giving them a clean chit despite alleged MCC violations. The petitioner mentioned in her plea that the Election Commission has two sets of rules-one applies to the PM and the BJP President while the other governs all the other candidates contesting the elections.
