In an open letter to the ECs, the former civil servant said such statements “tend to tilt the level playing ground unduly in favour of the ruling political party at the Centre.”
New Delhi: Former top bureaucrat E A S Sarma, in an open letter to the Election Commissioners, has drawn their attention to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remarks in Tamil Nadu, while attacking the INDIA bloc.
Quoting a para from Modi’s election speech where he accused the INDIA bloc of “targeting Hindus”, the former secretary to the Government of India, while hyperlinking a report, said: “If what has been reported is factually correct, the Commission should act on this urgently and initiate deterrent, exemplary proceedings against the person making such a statement.”
He said the cited statement “also amounts to a hate speech that tends to incite people and the Commission should take appropriate action”, as such statements “tend to tilt the level playing ground unduly in favour of the ruling political party at the Centre.”
The PM’s speech centred on Congress leader’s jibe at negative “shakti” in a rally, while talking about the concept of “shakti” in Hinduism. Taking off on that, Modi accused the DMK and Congress of being “anti-Hindu” and “two sides of the same coin”
“The INDI Alliance people repeatedly and deliberately insult Hinduism…’ he is alleged to have said.
“I hope that the Commission acts urgently, decisively, without fear, as per it’s mandate under Article 324 to conduct elections in a free and fair manner,” he concluded.
This story was originally published in newsclick.in. Read the full story here.