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A day after it imposed a 24-hour campaigning ban on TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, the Election Commission (EC) Tuesday debarred BJP leader Rahul Sinha for 48 hours for his remark that the central forces should have killed more in Cooch Behar’s Sitalkuchi.
In its order, the poll body said Sinha’s utterances were “provocative, mocked human life, could incite forces that could have law and order implications and, hence, violate the Model Code of Conduct (MCC)”.
This is possibly the first time the EC has banned a political leader from electioneering without giving the person a chance to present his defence. The poll body justified its decision citing “urgency of the matter”.
Asked if this step had left the EC’s decision open to legal challenge, a senior officer told The Indian Express, “Then we will welcome such a challenge. We are trying to send a strong message that this level of discourse will not be tolerated.”
On April 12, Sinha, who was campaigning in his constituency in Habra, had told reporters, “Not four, eight people should have been shot dead in Sitalkuchi. The Central forces should be issued a show cause notice asking why they killed only four and not eight…Goons are trying to deprive people of their democratic rights. Central forces responded appropriately. If it happens again, they will answer again.”
The BJP leader was referring to the violence witnessed on April 10 at a polling station in Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district, where four persons, including an 18-year-old, were killed in firing by CISF personnel.
The TMC had subsequently lodged a complaint with the EC against “inflammatory, inciting statements” made by Sinha and said that he and his party colleague Dilip Ghosh were “instigating violence against the electorate in West Bengal”.
The Commission also issued a notice to Ghosh on Tuesday for his alleged remarks that there would be “Sitalkuchi in several places”. He has been asked to respond to the notice and make his stand clear on his remarks by Wednesday morning.
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