Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena on April 7 (Sunday) issued a notice to Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy seeking an explanation, within 48 hours of receiving the notice, on the disparaging comments he allegedly made at the ‘Memantha Siddham’ public meeting at Puthalapattu on April 3 that TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu was a “habitual offender.”
The complaint lodged by TDP Polit Bureau member Varla Ramaiah would otherwise be sent to the Election Commission of India (ECI) for appropriate action, the CEO said in the notice.
Mr. Meena said in the notice that he found the comments / posts by the Chief Minister were, prima facie, in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), while pointing out that the ECI had issued an advisory to the political parties on the plummeting level of public discourse during campaigning, and that an advisory thereof expected decorum by political parties and candidates in general, and the star campaigners in particular.
ECI guidelines
The ECI had made it clear that any genre of surrogate, or indirect violation of the MCC would be dealt with sternly. As per the MCC, the use of provocative and inflammatory statements, use of intemperate and abusive language, transgressing the limits of decency, and attacks on the personal character and conduct of political rivals vitiate the level-playing field.
The MCC was aimed at prohibiting attempts to vitiate the electoral space through suggestive or indirect statements or innuendoes.
