SAD seeks action against Capt

With the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) continuing its multi-media advertisement campaign against the SAD-BJP government, the Shiromani Akali Dal on Tuesday wrote to the chief election commissioner (CEC), seeking action under provisions of the Indian Penal Code against PPCC president Capt Amarinder Singh. Gurpreet Singh Nibber reports.

With the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) continuing its multi-media advertisement campaign against the SAD-BJP government, the Shiromani Akali Dal on Tuesday wrote to the chief election commissioner (CEC), seeking action under provisions of the Indian Penal Code against PPCC president Capt Amarinder Singh.

The SAD alleged that the Congress had no respect for the model code of conduct, while questioning the Election Commission's 'silence' on the matter.

Earlier, the SAD had complained to the chief electoral officer, Punjab, against the use of the word 'Kakaji' in the Congress campaign, which it called derogatory, slanderous and covert. 'Kakaji' is a thinly-veiled reference to deputy chief minister and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal.

The campaign, being run by the state Congress through a Chandigarh-based advertising agency, features characters Jeeta and Jaggi, who discuss the state of affairs in Punjab. In the advertisement, Jaggi blames 'Kakaji' and the SAD-BJP government for the state's ills.

"Our media monitoring committee examined the issue after a reply was sought by the chief electoral officer. The Congress claimed that 'Kakaji' was a general term for a youth from an affluent and powerful family and that they were not referring to any particular person in the government," said special chief electoral officer Usha R Sharma.

"We have sent details of the matter to the CEC for his comment. We will take action after getting directions from him," Sharma added.

Harpreet Singh Brar, president of the SAD legal cell, said, "The monitoring committee has failed to check the unabated and continuous violation of the instructions and the code of conduct. The party made several complaints, but no action has been taken against the PPCC."