Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meditation visit to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari from May 30 to June 1 should either be deferred or not broadcast to prevent violation of the Model Code of Conduct, the Congress told the Election Commission on Wednesday.
In a complaint to the poll panel, the Opposition party said that no one is allowed to campaign directly or indirectly during the silence period. The silence period comes into effect 48 hours before the polling day.
Voting for the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections will take place on June 1.
“We have no issue with some person or leader doing anything, someone observing a vow of silence,” Singhvi told reporters. “But there should be no indirect campaigning during the silence period. The honourable prime minister has announced that he will go on a silent vow from May 30 evening. You know that the period of silence starts from May 30 morning 7 am, and it will continue till June 1.”
Voting will take place in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh and in parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal on June 1.
Besides the Congress, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee questioned why Modi is meditating in front of a camera, The Indian Express reported.
“Does anybody who meditates [does] it in front of a camera?” Banerjee asked at a rally in West Bengal’s Jadavpur constituency. “He basically wants to show his meditation to people.”
The West Bengal chief minister added that broadcasting Modi’s meditation would amount to violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
The code is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission for candidates, political parties and governments to follow during an election. It sets guardrails for campaign events, speeches, election manifestos and other aspects of the polls.
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