New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) has issued a show-cause notice Wednesday to Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his alleged remarks that the Narendra Modi government has enacted a new law which allows tribal to be shot at.
Citing his speech made in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, April 23, the commission pointed at a provision of the model code which bars ‘unverified’ allegations to be levelled against political opponents. Rahul has been given 48 hours to respond to the notice, failing which it will take action without further reference to him.
Two BJP workers had approached the EC with the complaint, following which a report was sought from MP poll authorities.
According to a broad translation of the Hindi speech available on the internet, Rahul had alleged: “Narendra Modi government has made a new law for tribals in which there is a line that says tribals can be shot at…They snatch your land, take away your jungle and water and then say that tribals can be shot at.”
The Congress president is yet to comment on the matter.
It should be stated here that in the last couple of days, Rahul has been under pressure from all quarters. Earlier Tuesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a notice to him seeking clarity on his citizenship status. It said that he has mentioned in some documents that he is a British citizen.