Chhattisgarh Assembly polls 2023: EC issues notice to Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, and BJP for ‘Akbar’ remark
- Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections 2023: The commission has asked Sarma to respond to the notice by 5 pm on October 30.
Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections 2023: The Election Commission of India (EC) has issued show cause notice to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) for the former's ‘Akbar’ remark during Chhattisgarh poll campaign. The commission has asked Sarma to respond to the notice by 5 pm on October 30.
Elections to the 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly will be held in two phases - on November 7 and 17.
The move comes after Congress on Wednesday lodged complaints against Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with the Election Commission, alleging that their remarks during the Chhattisgarh assembly poll campaign violated the model code of conduct.
Himanta Biswas Sarma ‘Akbar’ remark
The Congress' complaint against Assam Chief Minister Sarma pertained to a speech he delivered in Chhattisgarh's Kawardha on 18 October while campaigning against Congress candidate Mohammad Akbar.
In his speech, the Congress alleged, Sarma said, "If one Akbar comes to some place, he calls 100 Akbars. So, send him off as soon as possible, otherwise the land of Mata Kaushalya will get defiled."
The EC notice to Himanta Biswa Sarma it was mentioned that the BJP leader flouted model code of conduct which came into effect on 9 October. During his speech in Kawardha in Chhattisgarh on 18 October, Sarma had taken a controversial dig at Akbar saying that "the land of Mata Kaushalya will get defiled if Akbar isn't sent off."
"If one Akbar comes to some place, he calls 100 Akbars. So, send him off as soon as possible, otherwise the land of Mata Kaushalya will get defiled," he said.
Kaushalya, the mother of Ram, is believed to hail from what is modern day Chhattisgarh.
While issuing him notice, the poll panel reminded him of a provision in the poll code which states that "no party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic."
Congress complaint against Amit Shah
In their complaint against Amit Shah, the Congress told the EC that the home minister claimed in a speech in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon on October 16 that "...Bhupesh Baghel's government, for appeasement politics and vote bank politics, lynched Chhattisgarh's son Bhuneshwar Sahoo and got him killed..."
Shah further said that the BJP had pledged to bring Sahoo's killers to justice and "in his honour, we are fielding his father Ishwar Sahoo as a candidate in the elections", the complaint stated.
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Business NewsElectionsChhattisgarh Assembly polls 2023: EC issues notice to Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, and BJP for ‘Akbar’ remark
First Published:26 Oct 2023, 07:53 PM IST
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