Notice on Raj leaders over defence personnel pics

The Election Commission has issued notices to BJP MP Ramcharan Bohra and Congress leader Sunil Sharma for violating the Model Code of Conduct by using pictures of defence personnel in their election campaign in Jaipur.

The notice, sent by the Jaipur district electoral office on March 12, sought a response in three days, along with details of expenditure used on the campaign material. The politicians were found using Balakot airstrike for campaigning.

According to the Jaipur office of the election commission, a poster was put up by Bohra, which had the picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that of an army jawan, with the tagline "We entered Pakistan and killed the terrorists".

The Election commission directive states that "it is pertinent to mention here that the Armed Forces of a nation are the guardian of its frontiers, security and the political system. They are apolitical and neutral stakeholders in a modern democracy. It is, therefore, necessary that the political parties and leaders exercise great caution while making any reference to the Armed Forces in their political campaign."

Earlier, the Election Commission had directed Facebook to delete two posts shared by BJP MLA Om Prakash Sharma featuring Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's photo.

In Rajasthan, the elections for 25 MP seats will be held in two phases on April 29 and May 6.