The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lodged a formal complaint to the Election Commission of India, urging immediate action against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for alleged violations of the Representation of People Act 1951. The complaint centres around a social media post by Rahul Gandhi on "X" (formerly Twitter).
The BJP contended that the post, which included promises related to healthcare, gas subsidies, agricultural debt relief, English education, Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations, along with a call for active participation in the ongoing voting process in Rajasthan, was in violation of the 48-hour silence zone limit.
The party further alleged that posting such a message on the day of polling in Rajasthan constitutes an offence under Section 126 of the Act, which prohibits the display of any election-related material within 48 hours of the conclusion of the polls in a constituency.
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In the letter, the BJP said that the post by Rahul Gandhi has already been viewed by a significant number of users on the social media platform, exceeding 2,30,900 viewers as of 10:35am on November 25.
{{/usCountry}}In the letter, the BJP said that the post by Rahul Gandhi has already been viewed by a significant number of users on the social media platform, exceeding 2,30,900 viewers as of 10:35am on November 25.
{{/usCountry}}“This constitutes a huge violation of law by star campaigner of the Congress party. Such an audicious act on the date of voting deserves to be handled strongly by the Commission and stern punitive action should be taken urgently against the delinquent (sic),” it added.
The BJP urged the Election Commission to direct social media platform “X” to immediately suspend Gandhi's account and remove the “offending contents” with immediate effect. It also called on the poll body to issue directions to the Chief Election Officer Rajasthan for filing a criminal complaint and initiating criminal prosecution against the Congress leader.
On Saturday, polling is being held in 199 out of the 200 assembly constituencies in the state. More than 5.25 crore voters will decide the fate of 1,862 candidates in these 199 seats.