Congress alleges bias in ECI notice to Mallikarjun Kharge, seeks one-week extension over 24-hour deadline

The Congress has written to the Election Commission of India (ECI), raising concerns over a show-cause notice issued to party president Mallikarjun Kharge, while alleging inaction over remarks made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

In a detailed letter addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh highlighted what he described as inconsistencies in the notices issued to Kharge.

He noted that two notices bearing the same complaint number and date, April 22, were issued but signed by different officials. "If one of the notices was withdrawn, there is no mention of it in either of the notices," he said.

Ramesh further pointed out that one notice referenced a complaint by Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien, while the other "strangely dropped his name as the complainant".

He argued that this suggested a "casual and routine" approach by the commission, alleging that notices were being issued without due application of mind and based largely on complaints from ruling party affiliates.

He also criticised the 24-hour deadline given to Kharge to respond, noting that the Congress president is currently engaged in election campaigning, and requested a week's extension to file a comprehensive reply.

The Election Commission had on Wednesday issued a notice to Kharge after a high-level delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), comprising Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kiren Rijiju, met it to demand "strictest action" against him for calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "terrorist" during a political meeting in Tamil Nadu.

The delegation termed Kharge's remarks a "grave insult to the entire nation" and stated that "calling the PM a terrorist is a crime". Stating that Kharge's conduct was "disgraceful" and "cannot be normalised", the delegation urged the commission to take immediate cognisance of the matter.

Rijiju later said that the EC had assured that it would take "appropriate action". Ramesh also noted in his letter to the CEC that while the commission took cognisance of the BJP's complaint, it had not acted on alleged poll code violations by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. In this regard, he raised the issue of Modi's address to the nation on April 18, a day after his government failed to get the Women's Reservation Amendment Bill passed in the Lok Sabha by a two-thirds majority.

"Aside from the PM's unsuccessful attempt to camouflage that as a defeat for women's reservation, it was more importantly a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. This is amply evident from his numerous attacks on the Indian National Congress by name, including where he accused the Congress of foeticide," Ramesh wrote, accusing the Prime Minister of launching a "political attack" on the Opposition while the Assembly elections were on.

In addition, the letter referred to a statement by Amit Shah, which Ramesh described as a "quid pro quo" appeal, alleging that it amounted to seeking votes in exchange for financial benefits. He argued that such remarks could fall under provisions relating to bribery and undue influence as defined in the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

"This is a prime example of quid pro quo; you give me your vote, and I will give you XYZ benefit. This is not a policy pronouncement. It is a clear promise of exchange and thus hit by the language of Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951," Ramesh wrote. Also flagging silence on the remarks by Modi and Shah, Ramesh said these amounted to violations of the Model Code of Conduct and the Representation of the People Act, respectively.

However, Ramesh said the remarks of both BJP leaders "seemed to have escaped this commission's attention, which seems ever vigilant to slights against the above from the Opposition". Ramesh also alleged an "ulterior motive" in the way Kharge's remarks were taken out of context after he had already clarified them publicly.

"It almost seems that an attempt is being made to deliberately overlook the clear and unequivocal explanation about the context in which the words were uttered, so as to find some way to take action against the Congress president.

Unfortunately, it smacks of ulterior motives," he said. Finally, the Congress general secretary also objected to the tone of the ECI's notice, describing it as threatening and lacking due consideration. Ramesh urged the commission to grant additional time for a response and to provide an opportunity for a hearing.