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Lok Sabha elections 2019: PM mocks Congress over spate of complaints to EC
Modi began by greeting the crowd with the word “Abhinandan”, which means welcome in Hindi but is also the first name of an Indian Air Force pilot who downed a Pakistani jet in a dogfight in February, and told the crowd that the Congress was now certain to complain to the EC over a violation of the model code of conduct for uttering the word.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the opposition at a rally in Rajasthan on Friday over a spate of complaints against him by the Congress and other parties to the Election Commission.
Modi began by greeting the crowd with the word “Abhinandan”, which means welcome in Hindi but is also the first name of an Indian Air Force pilot who downed a Pakistani jet in a dogfight in February, and told the crowd that the Congress was now certain to complain to the EC over a violation of the model code of conduct for uttering the word.
“Then their one man or ‘chela’ will go to the Supreme Court. The court will ask the EC to decide the matter in one week and then EC will say that Modi did not violate he just greeted people. The Congress would then do a press conference. They are just playing this game,’’ Modi said in Rajasthan’s Sikar.
Modi’s comments come at a time the EC is looking at several complaints against him and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah for alleged violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) — the poll watchdog has already cleared the PM in five complaints of violating the MCC.
The principal opposition party had also moved the Supreme Court, accusing the poll watchdog of inaction and prompting the top court to set Monday as the deadline for acting against the complaints.
Air Force wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman hit headlines in February after he downed a Pakistani jet during a dogfight, that came a day after Indian forces struck terror targets deep within Pakistan in Balakot in retaliation for the Pulwama attack that killed 40 troopers on February 14. Varthaman’s jet was shot and he was captured by Pakistani forces, and returned a few days later.
One of the cases in which Modi was cleared by the EC this week pertained to a speech where he referred to the air strikes in Pakistan’s Balakot. The EC has since issued an advisory against the use of defence personnel as a part of political campaigns and a number of BJP leaders have got into trouble for featuring Varthaman in their election posters.
The Congress was not amused by Modi’s comment. “Modi’s desperation is written all over his face. Bereft of issues and lost in the web of his own lies, he is mocking the entire nation and its institutions...Such arrogance is always given a befitting reply and that reply would have a resounding impact in his defeat on May 23,’’ said the party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.
At a rally later in the day in Bikaner, Modi questioned the will of the Congress against terrorism, saying the party could not stop India’s share of river water flowing to Pakistan. “Was it right to give our share of river water to Pakistan?” he asked the gathering, adding if he came back to power, he would prioritise giving water to the state’s farmers. Twelve remaining seats in Rajasthan go to polls on Monday.
He also took a dig at Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her interaction with some snake charmers in Rae Bareli on Thursday.
Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said, “The PM has flagrantly violated the model code of conduct…He is a repeat offender, calls for multiple gag orders.”
