JOIN USThe Election Commission on Tuesday served a notice on Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian Sakshi Maharaj for making a remark apparently blaming a particular community for population explosion in the country.
The EC prima facie held that the BJP MP’s remark at Meerut in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh was in violation of not only the Model Code of Conduct, but also the Supreme Court’s recent order barring invocation of religion and caste in electioneering.
Maharaj is the first politician who the EC has accused of violating the Supreme Court’s January 2 order barring invocation of ‘religion, race, caste, community or language’ to seek votes.
The commission wrote to Maharaj that it was of the opinion that he had violated the provisions of the Para 1 (3) and Para 1 (4) of the Model Code of Conduct and ‘also wilfully disobeyed’ the Supreme Court's January 2 order. It asked the BJP MP to reply to its notice by Wednesday.
Para 1(3) of the Model Code of Conduct bars appeals to caste or communal feelings during electioneering, while Para 1(4) provides that all parties should scrupulously avoid all activities that are considered as corrupt practices and offences under the election law.