Congress cries foul over Vajpayee's Gujarat ads

Dec 14, 2007, 14:43 GMT

New Delhi, Dec 14 (IANS) The Congress party Friday filed a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) against the widely published advertisement of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in which Atal Bihari Vajpayee exhorts the people of Gujarat to vote for the party.

The Congress has termed the advertisements as 'scurrilous'.

'The Congress party has filed a complaint against the Vajpayee advertisement - published in newspapers of Gujarat - with the Election Commission at 11 a.m. on Friday,' said Abhishek Manu Singhvi, spokesperson of the Congress party.

The party has also submitted a CD of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in which he allegedly speaks against the Congress leaders and attempts to create a communal divide.

Singhvi said the advertisement violates clauses I and II of the Election Code of Conduct. He added that a CD in which Modi makes remarks against the Congress leaders and also makes alleged inflammatory communal statements has been submitted with the complaint.

Clause I of the Election Code of Conduct states that no statement which disturbs communal harmony should be made. Clause II states, 'Criticism of other parties or their workers based on unverified allegations or distortion shall be avoided'.

'Modi spoke against (Congress party president) Sonia Gandhi and (parliament attack accused) Afzal Ansari and we have complained against this,' Singhvi said.

He said the BJP had no right to speak against the United Progressive Alliance stand on Afzal Ansari issue. 'I have placed on record in parliament that from 1998 to 2004 there were 19 cases in which conviction had been done by a court of law and still there was a delay in enforcing the punishment.'

Singhvi gave two examples. One of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination accused, who were not hanged even after their conviction and quashing of the clemency plea.

And another of Purulia arms drop case accused Peter Bleach. Singhvi said that Bleach had air-dropped weapons and though he was found guilty by a court of law the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had allowed him to go scot-free.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service