Soon after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called Prime Minister Narendra Modi “panauti (one who brings bad luck)" and “jebkatra (pickpocket)", the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) knocked on the doors of the Election Commission (EC), complaining about the level of plummeting political discourse.
“Comparing a Prime Minister to a ‘jebkatra’ and ‘panauti’ is most unbecoming of any senior leader and is a symptom of plummeting levels of political discourse," complained the BJP, in its letter to the Chief Election Commissioner.
The BJP insisted that calling anyone pickpocket amounts to “vicious abuse" and “personal attack", which is defamatory in nature and attracts provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The BJP insisted that “winning or losing is not a function of who is watching, but the respective strength of the teams in the game".
The party was referring to Gandhi’s barb at Modi during his election campaigning in Jalore in Rajasthan, where Gandhi called Modi “panauti", adding that he was the reason why India could not win the World Cup final. “Ache bhale hamare ladke waha pe World Cup jeet jaate, par panauti ne harwa diya (our boys were almost winning the World Cup, but the ‘bad omen’ made them lose)," the Congress MP said.
The BJP also raked up the issue of ‘jebkatra’ which Gandhi said in an election rally. “The pickpocket never comes alone, there are three people. One comes from the front, one from the back, and one from the distance… Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s job is to divert your attention. He comes on TV from the front and distracts the public by raising topics of Hindu-Muslim, demonetisation, and GST. Meanwhile, a businessman comes from behind and takes the money."
The BJP in its letter also contested the claims that the Prime Minister had granted waivers to the tune of Rs 14,00,000 crore in the past nine years, calling it “most mischievous".
The BJP argued that collectively “the said statements and falsehoods have transgressed the fundamental principles of free and fair election by disseminating false information under the guise of addressing rally". The BJP has argued that the statements have violated Section 123 (4) of the Peoples Representation Act, sections of the IPC like 171G, 499, and 504 as well as the Model Code of Conduct that is in place in poll-bound Rajasthan.
Reminding the poll body of judgments and observations from the Supreme Court and High Courts, the saffron party has urged the Election Commission to “intervene" and take “appropriate legal action" against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Gandhi. The BJP has also urged the poll body to issue prohibitory orders against Gandhi
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