The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday came down heavily on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief JP Nadda and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge directing them to issue formal notes to star campaigners of the Lok Sabha elections to correct their discourse, exercise care and maintain decorum.
The poll body asked the BJP and the Congress to desist from campaigning along caste, community, language, and religious lines, asserting that India’s socio-cultural milieu cannot be made a casualty to elections.
Nearly a month after it issued notice to Nadda on the opposition's charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a divisive speech in Rajasthan's Banswara, the poll watchdog rejected his defence and asked him and his party's star campaigners to desist from campaigning on religious and communal lines.
The poll pannel also asked the BJP to stop campaign speeches that may divide society.
Along with Nadda, the EC had issued a similar notice to Kharge asking him to respond to the complaints filed by the BJP against him and the main opposition party's senior leader Rahul Gandhi regarding their remarks.
The EC also rejected his defence and asked Congress not to politicise defence forces and make potentially divisive statements regarding socio-economic composition of the armed forces.
It also asked the Congress to ensure that its star campaigners and candidates do not make statements which give false impression that the Constitution may be abolished or sold.
