The uproar over ‘Muslim appeasement’ should have died down at least a decade ago. The Sachar Committee report had given a clear picture in 2005 of the socio-economic status of minorities. Unfortunately, none other than the PM played the religion card in UP by making an egregious reference to Hindu and Muslim burial grounds. BJP president Amit Shah followed that up with an absurd acronym to attack political rivals. This clearly contravenes the Model Code of Conduct of the Election Commission which says no party or candidate should engage “in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic”.

When Akhilesh Yadav referred to the “donkeys of Gujarat”, he should have been quoted the Code: “Parties and candidates shall refrain from criticism...not connected with the public activities of the leaders or workers of other parties.” The Supreme Court’s order against campaigns based on religion and caste should also have been an eye-opener. In 2007, the EC had ticked off Congress president Sonia Gandhi for using the term “merchant of death” in the Gujarat Assembly elections. In 2014, the poll panel appealed to UP officials to lodge an FIR against MP Yogi Adityanath for a speech in Noida that provoked “religious enmity”.

But politicians get away because the poll panel lacks teeth to implement the model code. Section 16(A) of the “symbol order” of 1968 may be the only provision that empowers the EC. The panel can deregister and freeze the symbol of a party if its members violate the model code despite being reprimanded by the panel. This provision is yet to be evoked. The model code should be linked to the criminal code and procedures to ensure that campaigns are conducted without prejudice.

AM Jigeesh, Senior Assistant Editor

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