EC notice to Anurag Thakur for 'shoot the traitors' sloganeering

The Election Commission on Tuesday issued a show cause notice to Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur, one of BJP's 40-star campaigners for the Delhi Assembly elections, for his "shoot the traitors" sloganeering in a campaign meeting.

Thakur has been given time till 12 noon on January 30 to explain his position failing which the Commission will make a decision without any further reference to him.

Prima facie, the EC said, it was of the view that Thakur has violated the Model Code of Conduct and Representation of the People's Act 1951 by making the statements which have the "potential of disturbing communal harmony and aggravating the existing differences between social and religious communities".

On Monday in a campaign meeting in Rithala, Thakur was seen clapping his hands and chanting, "desh ke gaddaron ko (traitors of the country)..." to which the crowd responded, "goli maaro saalon ko (shoot them all)". The video had went viral on social media.

In its order, the EC said it had received a report from the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi on Tuesday in which it was mentioned that Thakur indulged in provocative sloganeering "many times". It also said, "you also made certain other objectional statements in the meeting."

On Saturday, the Election Commission banned BJP Model Town candidate Kapil Mishra from campaigning for 48 hours for his comments against anti-CAA protesters in Shaheen Bagh and describing the February 8 polls as an "India vs Pakistan" contest.