‘Iconic’ slip: Congress moves EC against Patra

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Bhubaneswar: The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Tuesday moved the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) here against the use of religious symbols by the BJP’s Puri Lok Sabha candidate Sambit Patra during his election campaign from the constituency.
The party complained to the CEO against the controversial act of the BJP candidate and urged the poll panel to intervene in the matter as it is a gross violation of the election model code of conduct.
As per the images shared by Patra on social networking sites, he wore saffron clothes, held an idol of Lord Jagannth in one of his hands and roamed around wooing the electorate.
The party asked the CEO to take immediate action to ensure a free and fair election in the state. “When it has been mentioned by the Election Commission of India that no election can be fought on the basis of any religion, caste, creed or culture, the election rally of Sambit Patra and the photographs thereof clearly show violation of model code of conduct,” the party said in its memorandum to the CEO. “The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee would like to request you to appreciate our contentions and take immediate steps as per law in the interest of justice,” the party added.
The Election Commission of India had announced the election schedule March 10 and the Model Code of Conduct had come into force with immediate effect. However, the code as per OPCC was grossly violated by BJP’s Puri candidate who used religion during election campaigning.
Soon after being declared as the party’s candidate from Puri, Patra jumped into a campaigning mode. He visited some of the areas in his constituency with an array of party workers.