The Election Commission has let off the Uttarakhand unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party with a warning to be more careful in the future over a now-deleted tweet on Congress leader and former Chief Minister Harish Rawat.
The EC, in its order on Wednesday, said it had found the Uttarakhand BJP’s explanation to the notice issued to it on February 5 unsatisfactory. The party’s Twitter handle had reportedly shared a morphed photo of the Congress leader depicted as a Muslim cleric. In its reply on Tuesday, the party had submitted that the tweet was not to violate the Model Code of Conduct or create any differences between groups based on religion, race, caste, language etc., and that the tweet had been deleted, according to the EC order.
“Based on the available evidences and material facts, the Commission has not found the reply…of BJP, Uttarakhand, satisfactory,” the order. The EC said an FIR had been lodged in connection with a Facebook post, which would “follow its logical conclusion”.
“The Commission warns the BJP, Uttarakhand to be more careful in future and advises to follow all the provisions of Model Code of Conduct and other guidelines of the Commission in letter and spirit,” the EC said.
