Comments
Based on a complaint filed by the BJP, the Election Commission has decided to initiate legal action against TV channels for airing interviews with Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi. According to an order issued by the poll panel, Rahul will also have to face legal action. The panel has asked the channels to take the interviews off the air.
Earlier in the day, the ruling BJP formally approached the Election Commission, stating that by giving interviews, the Congress leader had violated the model code of conduct and the Representation of People Act. The party later said that the interviews betrayed the Congress’ desperation ahead of the second phase of Gujarat polls.
“We don’t think such interviews are allowed in the 48 hours prior to polls. We have never given such interviews,” Union Minister Piyush Goyal said. In a complaint to the poll panel, the Gujarat BJP said the panel could not prevent the broadcasting of interviews, which according to the BJP, is against a circular of the panel.
The Congress responded saying the Election Commission is not governed by the BJP. “The BJP looks very angry. The interviews given by Rahul Gandhi have made them angry. The offices of the Prime Minister and the Gujarat Chief Minister are calling up television channels and editors and are telling them that they will be sent to jail if the interview is aired. Broadcasting an interview a day ahead of the poll is no crime,” Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.