New Delhi: The Election Commission on Tuesday issued an advisory to political parties and their star campaigners asking them to exercise restraint during the election campaign in Karnataka and not to spoil the election atmosphere. Taking serious note of the “decreasing level of communication in election campaigning”, the commission noted instances of “inappropriate vocabulary and language” being used during campaigning by persons “especially those holding the statutory status of star campaigners”.
“Such instances have come to the fore in several complaints and counter-complaints and have also attracted negative media attention,” the Election Commission said in a statement. And in view of this, the war of words between Congress and BJP has also intensified.
This instruction from the Election Commission has come at a time when both Congress and the BJP are accusing each other of using the wrong words. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday raised before the Election Commission the issue of Congress’s promise of strict action against Bajrang Dal and its leader Priyank Kharge calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘incompetent’.
On the other hand, the Congress has alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Bharatiya Janata Party President JP Nadda, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have made such comments during the campaign for the Karnataka Assembly elections, which amount to hate speech. come within range. The party has urged the Election Commission to take action against these three prominent BJP leaders.
A Congress delegation submitted a report to the commission regarding this demand. Senior Congress leaders Vivek Tankha, Salman Khurshid, and some other leaders were included in this delegation. A few days ago, the Congress had urged the Election Commission to stop Shah and Yogi from campaigning.
