The Election Commission on Wednesday advised Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to be cautious during his election speeches and avoid words such as “panauti” (bad omen) and “jebkatra” (pickpocket), PTI reported, citing unidentified sources.
On November 21, Gandhi, at a rally in poll-bound Rajasthan, had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had brought bad luck to the Indian men’s cricket team, resulting in their loss against Australia in the World Cup final two days earlier.
At another election rally in Rajasthan’s Barmer on November 22, Gandhi had alleged that the prime minister diverted people’s attention while industrialist Gautam Adani picked their pockets.
Last year, the Election Commission had sent a show cause notice to Gandhi for his remarks about Modi, saying that they could constitute violations of the Model Code of Conduct.
The code is a set of guidelines issued by the election commission that political parties have to follow while campaigning.
On December 21, the Delhi High Court had directed the Election Commission to decide on the notice it had issued to Gandhi for the comments. The court had said that Gandhi’s statement that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government was being run by pickpockets was “not in good taste”.
On Wednesday, the Election Commission, while acting on the Delhi High Court’s directive, asked the Congress leader “to be more careful” during his speeches.
The Election Commission also asked Gandhi to keep in mind an advisory it issued on March 1. The advisory warned political parties, candidates and star campaigners of stern action if the Model Code of Conduct, which is expected to come into effect later this month, is directly or indirectly violated.
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