Punjab CM wants Election Commission to take action against Modi, BJP for exploiting ‘martyrs’ to woo voters 

Possibly for the first time the chief minister of a state has complained to the Election Commission against the Prime Minister and sought action against him for alleged violation of the poll code. The full text of the letter written by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is reproduced below.

“Shocked by disgraceful invocation of Balakot air strikes & Pulwama martyrs by Narendra Modi to woo voters,” tweeted Amarinder Singh with the copy of his letter

PM Modi had said, “I want to ask first-time voters, can your first vote be dedicated to the brave soldiers who carried out air strike in Pakistan? Can your first vote be dedicated to martyrs of Pulwama?" in a rally in Maharashtra.

“It is extremely unfortunate that the Prime Minister is being allowed to engage in this kind of prejudicial behaviour, without the Election Commission taking any action to put a stop to such wilful violation of the code of conduct, for the past several weeks,” read part of the letter to EC by Captain Amarinder Singh.

Full text of the letter

“ As widely reported by the media, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked the success of the Balakot air strikes by the Indian Air Force and the sacrifice of the martyrs of the Pulwama attacks to woo first-time voters at his rally on Tuesday, the 9th of April 2019, in Maharashtra.

This is not only shockingly disgraceful but a clear case of violation of the code of conduct, which constitutes the bedrock of free and fair election. That a person of the stature of the Prime Minister should indulge in such shameful acts makes a mockery of the democratic process of election and undermines the independence of the Election Commission as well as the armed forces, who have always prided themselves on their secular character.

It is extremely unfortunate that the Prime Minister is being allowed to engage in this kind of prejudicial behaviour, without the Election Commission taking any action to put a stop to such wilful violation of the code of conduct, for the past several weeks. That the Prime Minister has been allowed to continuously and brazenly resort to such gimmickry to woo voters raises suspicions of bias on the part of the Election Commission, with the impression going out that the poll body is not coming down hard enough on those violating its own code.

In fact, the Commission, while asking political parties not to use photographs of defence personnel in its campaign, had categorically stated: "The Armed Forces of a nation are the guardians of its frontiers, security and political system. They are apolitical and neutral stakeholders in a modern democracy. It is therefore necessary that political parties and leaders exercise great caution while making any reference to the armed forces in their political campaigns." In fact, it was to maintain their neutrality that the Father of the Indian Constitution had chosen to make the President of the country the supreme commander of the armed forces.

Despite the EC directive, however, the Prime Minister continues to malign the memories of the martyrs and exploit their sacrifices in a petty attempt to garner votes. Mr. Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been audaciously using the Balakot air strikes and the martyrdom of the security forces to exploit the sentiments of the voters, particularly the new ones, as done by the Prime Minister in his Maharashtra speech. Their television campaign ads are also playing this theme with total disregard to the code of conduct, in utter contempt of the due process of election.

Frankly, if the Prime Minister is so concerned about the sacrifices of the security personnel, he should announce compensation of Rs One Crore for the families of each of the martyrs instead of promoting his vested interests.

Given the gravity of the violation, which is seriously jeopardizing the election process and undermining the sanctity and integrity of the Election Commission, I would like to request your urgent personal intervention to put an immediate end to such gross violations of the code of conduct by the ruling party and its leaders. Fair play and electoral propriety demands that such action be taken without further delay, in the larger interest of the nation's democratic polity and to uphold the secular credentials of the security forces.”