New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the Karnataka chief electoral officer (CEC) to take immediate and appropriate action against Union minister and BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje for alleged violation of the model code of conduct.
The ECI has also sought a compliance report from the state CEC within 48 hours.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, lodged a complaint with the ECI seeking action against Karandlaje for linking the suspect in the Rameshwaram cafe blast – which took place in Bengaluru on March 1 — with Tamil Nadu.
DMK said Karandlaje’s statement “attempts to promote feelings of enmity and hatred between the people of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and has been made for the furtherance” of her election prospects.
DMK also alleged that the remarks of the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare can lead to violence against Tamil community.
Karandlaje, the MP from Karnataka’s Udupi Chikmagalur constituency, said during a protest in Bengaluru on Tuesday that law and order in Karnataka has deteriorated, so much so that “people who come from Tamil Nadu plant bombs here, people from Delhi chant ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans and people who come from Kerala were involved in acid attacks.”
Though she did apologise for those remarks and retracted her comments, the Cyber Crime wing of Madurai Police booked the BJP leader under various sections of the IPC, including section 153 (a), which pertains to “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc. and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.”
