Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Congress will have to face the legal consequence of not revealing crucial fact in their representation.
New Delhi: A day after getting a show-cause notice from the Election Commission, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said legitimate criticism of a candidate does not amount to communal politics as the Congress has withheld the material information from the Election Commission that Mohammed Akbar is their candidate from Kawardha Constituency.
The Assam chief minister said the Congress will have to face the legal consequence of not revealing this crucial fact in their representation. He also added that he has full faith in the collection wisdom of the Election Commission.
“Congress has withheld the material information from the Hon’ble Election Commission that Mohammed Akbar is their candidate from Kawardha Constituency. Therefore, legitimate criticism of a candidate does not amount to communal politics. Congress will have to face the legal consequence of not revealing this crucial fact in their representation. I have full faith in the collection wisdom of the Hon’ble Election Commission,” the Assam CM said in a post on X.
Congress has withheld the material information from the Hon’ble Election Commission that Mohammed Akbar is their candidate from Kawardha Constituency.
Therefore legitimate criticism of a candidate does not amount to communal politics.
Cong will have to face the legal… https://t.co/B7knnSjvCG
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) October 27, 2023
On Thursday, the Election Commission issued a show-cause notice to Himanta Biswa Sarma over his speech during the Chhattisgarh poll campaign in Kawardha. The EC in the show-cause notice mentioned that certain parts of Himanta Biswa Sarma’s speech on October 18 have been found to be “prima facia violative”.
The EC has asked Assam CM Himanata Biswa Sarma to be present before 5pm on October 30, 2023.
“You are hereby called upon to show cause by 17:00 hrs of 30th October 2023, (Monday) as to why appropriate action of violation on Model code of conduct should not be taken against you.”, the notice read.
The notice further mentioned that in case of the absence of the BJP leader, the Election Commission will take appropriate action or decision.
The Election Commission show-cause notice comes a day after Congress leaders made a complaint to the Election Commission accusing the Assam CM Himanat Biswa Sarma of violating the model code of conduct in his speech during Chhattisgarh campaigning.
Himanta Biswa Sarma while campaigning in Kawardha, made a statement which stirred a row. “When one Akbar arrives in a particular location, he brings along a hundred Akbars. Therefore, it is crucial to remove him swiftly or else the sanctity of Mata Kaushalya’s land will be compromised”, he said addressing an election rally.
This comes as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday released its fourth and final list of candidates for the upcoming Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, fielding party leader Rajesh Agarwal from Ambikapur constituency against state Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo.
The first phase of polling for 20 seats in Chhattisgarh will be held on November 7 and the remaining 70 seats in the state will go to polls on November 17. The counting of votes will be done on December 3.