Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday was given a clean chit by the Gujarat Police in a case that had become a full-fledged controversy because it reportedly involved violation of the model code of conduct prior to the Lok Sabha elections. The closure report was filed in a metropolitan court.
Modi had come to cast his vote early in the Ranip area of Ahmedabad on April 30. After exercising his franchise, Modi not only flashed the party symbol and clicked a selfie, but also addressed an impromptu press conference.
Though Modi had addressed the conference at a distance from the polling booth, officials had pointed out that he may have violated the code of conduct by posting on Twitter the selfie of the lotus cutout and his finger painted with ink after voting.
The officials said as per election rules, politicians could not conduct public rallies or use the media to display any election material in the 48 hours leading to an election.
Crime Branch officials said on Friday that there was no case made out against Modi, and thus the closure report was filed in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate M H Patel. The Crime Branch had also questioned news channels and their representatives for live coverage of the event and Modi’s speech.
It may be recalled that an FIR had been registered against Modi, the then Gujarat chief minister, after the state unit of the Congress filed a complaint with the Election Commission (EC).
The EC had directed not only the lodging of the complaint against Modi but even against channels that had telecast his speech live. The EC order had said Modi had violated the provisions of Sections 126 (1)(a) and 126 (l)(b) of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951.
