In a recent development, Congress MP Manickam Tagore has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of leveraging the Election Commission (EC) to stifle his party's campaign, citing the BJP's perceived threat from Priyanka Gandhi's outreach. This allegation follows the Election Commission's issuance of a show-cause notice to Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress general secretary, for allegedly making 'unverified and false statements' about Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election rally.
Tagore asserted, "The BJP is threatened by the campaign of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra...For that, they are using the Election Commission... The election commission should be fair and neutral... They should act on the complaints that the Congress party has given them... They are not acting on those subjects." He added that this is part of a 'conspiracy' against his party in the states heading to the polls.
Show-Cause Notice to Priyanka Gandhi: What You Need to Know
The Election Commission's move came in response to a complaint lodged by BJP leaders Hardeep Singh Puri, Anil Baluni, and Om Pathak. According to them, Priyanka Gandhi made 'baseless and false' claims that the Narendra Modi government had privatized public sector undertakings (PSUs).
The poll body stated, "It has been alleged that while addressing a public rally at Sanwer Assembly Constituency in Madhya Pradesh, you have made unverified and false statements in respect of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi that have the potential to mislead the public and tarnish the image of the Prime Minister." Priyanka Gandhi has been asked to explain her statement by 8 pm on Thursday.
Priyanka Gandhi's Allegations Against PM Modi
During a rally in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district, Priyanka Gandhi accused PM Modi of handing over government companies to private players, whom she referred to as his industrialist friends. She questioned, "Modi ji, the BHEL from which we used to get employment and the country was moving forward, what did you do with this? To whom did you give it? Why did you give this to your industrialist friends?"
Union Minister Anurag Thakur Responds
Union Minister Anurag Thakur countered the allegations, stating that the remarks made by the senior Congress leader are an attempt to divert attention from the party's failure to address the concerns of the people in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. "Some people always make fake promises. However, they have failed to fulfill their promises after five years. As Congress has failed to answer the people of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, they are making such remarks (against PM Modi)," he told reporters.
Stay tuned for further updates on this developing political controversy.
