BJP moves EC, seeks direction to restrain Yathindra, Tangadagi from campaigning

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP on Friday filed three separate complaints with the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer.

In the first complaint, the saffron party sought the EC to pass orders refraining former MLA Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah and Kannada and Culture minister Shivaraj Tangadagi from campaigning as both the Congress leaders are making personal attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi respectively.

Addressing a party meeting in Hanur town of Chamarajanagar district, Yathindra allegedly said on Thursday: “Home Minister Amit Shah is a goonda, rowdy; there was a murder charge on him in Gujarat and he was exiled, and Modi did politics keeping such people next to him....” 

Tangadagi, during a Congress party workers meeting in Koppal last Sunday, had said, “They (BJP) had promised to give two crore jobs. Did they give jobs to anyone? When asked for jobs, they say - sell ‘pakoras’. They should be ashamed… If any students or youths still say ‘Modi, Modi’ (slogans), they should be slapped.”

The party also moved the EC alleging that the police have harassed the BJP workers and set the campaign material on fire in Kudachi of Belagavi district.

According to the complaint, the LED vehicle bearing registration number, UP 25 GT-2437, was passing through a check-post near Kudachi at Chikkodi Lok Sabha constituency, the police personnel stopped the vehicle for verification. “Upon searching, the police personnel found some letters pertaining to the suggestions by the party workers and photos of Narendra Modi.

Taking objections to these materials, the police personnel set the boxes containing suggestion letters and photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on fire and destroyed them completely. Burning PM Modi’s photos is clear violation of model code of conduct, the Election commission must act on such errant officials,” the complaint said. 

In its third complaint on Friday, the BJP accused the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP) of taking a partisan stand on covering former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s statue in Rajajinagar while not covering the former prime minister Rajeev Gandhi’s statue in Bengaluru.