The Bharatiya Janata Party has written to the Election Commission seeking “reprimand, censure, and restraint” of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly peddling falsehoods in his electioneering for the impending Maharashtra election.
In its complaint, the ruling party accuses Gandhi of “gross violation” of the Model Code of Conduct, highlighting remarks last week in Mumbai wherein he is quoted as saying that other states were “stealing and snatching” opportunities due to the state.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, who led the BJP delegation that called on the election officials, said, “We told them that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi spoke lies in Maharashtra that the BJP was striving to demoralize the Constitution.” The BJP objected to Mr. Gandhi’s “unsubstantiated claims” that while Apple iPhones and Boeing airplanes were manufactured in other states, Maharashtra was being “bypassed.”
The BJP, on its part, hit back, saying that Maharashtra led the country in FDI with ₹ 70,795 crore between April and June 2024-25. “These utterances are capable of inciting unrest amongst the youths of Maharashtra, which is immensely dangerous,” it said.
The BJP, in its notice, also attacked Gandhi’s comments as part of a sustained course of mendacious campaigning aimed at promoting ill-will between states. “His speech was full of false statements aimed at creating a wedge among the people of Maharashtra and other states,” the ruling party alleged.
The BJP also cited an advisory issued by the Election Commission on March 1, calling upon political leaders to be restrained and base their campaigns on real issues.
The party contended that such advisories have had little impact on Congress leaders and their campaigns and called upon the Election Commission of India to launch prosecution against Mr. Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for such violations.
