Campaigning hits new lows this election season - will Election Commission act?

Mangalore Today News Network

Apr 02, 2019: Leaders across the political spectrum have a common ‘ailment’: loud mouth syndrome. A mic in hand and a cheering audience can make netas hit below the belt with nasty and sometimes personal comments. It is time for the Election Commission to act rather than issue stereotype warnings that go unheeded.

 

Ban one neta from polls, jail a couple of them and everyone will fall in line.

Leaders in north India, especially in the Hindi belt, take the cake when it comes to passing nasty comments on opponents or making controversial statements. And in the Hindi belt, Uttar Pradesh stands out.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is known more for his controversial statements rather than his achievements as head of state. At a rally in Ghaziabad on Sunday he called the Indian Army as “Modiji ki sena (Modi’s army)”.

The Election Commission has sought a report. Retired Navy chief Admiral L Ramdas slammed Yogi saying “The armed forces do not belong to any one individual, they serve the country. Till the polls get over, the Chief Election Commissioner is the boss. I am going to approach the Election Commission in this regard.”

Earlier, Adityanath courted controversy by calling Saharanpur Congress candidate Imran Masood as the son-in-law of dreaded terrorist and JeM chief Masood Azhar.

At times, things can become too nasty and personal. UP minister Srikant Sarma called Rahul Gandhi impotent. Defending  Gandhi, the Congress party’s Bihar ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) tweeted saying: “Rahul Gandhi is impotent and Narendra Modi is not, how do they know? The public would like to know!”

Rabble-rouser AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi got personal when he said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about Muslim women and their divorce, he didn’t give his wife any rights.

Congress leader Sanjay Jha compared Modi to a blonde woman only to get roasted on Twitter.

Here are the other controversial statements of this election season:

Former UP chief minister and now Rajasthan Governor, Kalyan Singh was found guilty of violating the Model Code of Conduct by the Election Commission for his remark that Narendra Modi should be re-elected as the Prime Minister.

The Governor courted controversy when he told reporters in Aligarh on March 23 that everyone wants Modi to win and that it’s necessary for the country.

The EC found that Singh’s remark has disrupted the level-playing field, and hence, violate the MCC.

But in all probability, he will go scot free.

Women are often the targets of verbal attacks, mainly from men who have a feudalistic mindset. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, BSP chief Mayawati, BJP’s candidate Jaya Prada – all connected to Uttar Pradesh – have been verbally ‘assaulted.’

    Speaking in Sikandrabad near Delhi, Union Minister Mahesh Sharma said: “Pappu (a reference to Rahul Gandhi) says he wants to become Prime Minister. So there is Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, Pappu and now, Pappu’s Pappi has also stepped in”.

Surprisingly, Kerala unit of CPM, upset at Gandhi contesting from Wayanad, called the Congress chief Pappu while party veteran VS Achuthanandan called him an Amul Baby.

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya passed a personal and racist remark against Priyanka. At a public meeting in Gujarat’s Anand, Mandaviya said: “There is word in the Congress party that she (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) has a nose just like her grandmothers (Indira Gandhi), but if one could come to power by having a nose like ones grandmother, then won’t there be a president in every household in China?”

It is not Priyanka alone who was the target. In a new low Surendra Singh commented on the colour of Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati’s hair and her facials.

“She gets a facial every day. The person who herself gets a facial daily is telling our leader that he is ‘shaukeen’,” the MLA said, using a Hind word that suggests vanity.

“Wearing clean clothes is not being ‘shaukeen’. Colouring hair at the age of 60 to look young is ‘shaukeen’. Her hair has turned grey but she colours it black,” Singh said.

Firoz Khan, a Samajwadi leader in Sambhal district in Uttar Pradesh, passed a sexist comment against his former party colleague and actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada when he said “Rampur’s evenings will turn colourful in this election season.”

Jaya Prada is a candidate from Rampur.

Karnataka too is known for its loudmouths. Leading the pack is serial offender and Union Minister of State for Skill Development Ananth Kumar Hegde.

In January, Hegde had termed Gandhi “a hybrid specimen” that cannot be found in any laboratory in the world. “He (Rahul Gandhi) does not know this country. He has no clue about religion. Look how they lie. A father who is a Muslim, a mother who is a Christian and the son is supposed to be a Brahmin. How is that even possible?,” he had said.

Hegde is known for making inflammatory speeches. Earlier, he courted controversy saying any hand that touches a Hindu girl should be cut.

Congress MLA Belur Gopalakrishna goaded supporters “to shoot” Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He later apologised.

Courtesy:Yahoo.com