Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not violate the poll code of conduct in his Wardha speech in which he had claimed the opposition was scared to contest from seats where the majority community accounted for most of the constituency’s population. The remark was seen as an attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi who has decided to contest from Kerala’s Wayanad seat as well as Amethi. The Congress had alleged that the prime minister had, in this speech of 1 April, made some “hateful, vile and divisive” remarks against party president Rahul Gandhi and tried to spread hate for electoral gains. “Accordingly, Commission is of the considered view that in this matter no such violation has been noticed,” the commission’s order, delivered almost a month after Prime Minister Modi’s speech, said. The Election Commission’s decision came after the Congress approached the Supreme Court complaining that the poll panel had gone soft on PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.

Source: Hindustan Times April 30, 2019 15:32 UTC