New Delhi: In a major development ahead of the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday banned former Telangana Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) from campaigning for 48 hours for violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
The 48-hour ban comes into force at 8 PM this evening. The poll panel issued a notice to KCR over a complaint filed by Congress regarding alleged "derogatory" remarks against the party made by him. The Congress had complained to the election panel on April 6 about certain "objectionable" remarks made by KCR at a press conference in Telangana's Sircilla town a day earlier.
According to the complaint filed on April 6, KCR allegedly said, "A Congressman told to sell 'Nirods' [contraceptives] and papads for survival", and he asked, "Are they sons of dogs to say for the selling of Nirodhs and papads?" Further, the party accused the BRS chief of calling them "people with a cheap mentality" and also of threatening them.
"The Commission has carefully gone through the contents of G. Niranjan's complaint against K. Chandrashekar Rao dated 6th April 2024 and K. Chandrashekar Rao's aforesaid reply dated 23rd April 2024 to the said complaint and the available records and is convinced that K Chandrashekar Rao's alleged statements made in the press meet on 5th April 2024 in Sircilla are a violation of the MCC provisions and the Commission's instruction and advisory dated 2nd January 2024 and 3rd March 2024 respectively quoted above", the poll panel said in its order.
It further said that "the Commission has further noted that K Chandrashekar Rao, then President, TRS had been issued an Order dated 3 May 2019 in connection with violation of the Model Code of Conduct during a public address in Karimnagar on 17th May 2019, cautioning him to be more careful in future. Another advisory dated 24th November 2023 was issued to K Chandrashekar Rao in connection with his speech given on 30th October 2023 at 30-Banswada AC during the General Election to the Legislative Assembly of Telangana, 2023 advising him to follow the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct in letter and spirit."
The Commission further said that it found that KCR not only violated the provisions of MCC but "he has also been violating the MCC provisions during past elections."
