BJP MP Sambit Patra.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress of violating rules by releasing the party’s manifesto for the Jharkhand assembly elections during the 48-hour silent period on November 12. Spokesperson Sambhit Patra said that they will approach the Election Commission in this regard.
“Today is 13th and voting is going on in Jharkhand. There is a silent period of 48 hours before voting, during which no political party can campaign or release its manifesto. None of us are unaware of this. Despite this, the Congress party has released its manifesto yesterday on the 12th. This in itself is very sad and is a case of tampering with the Constitution,” Patra said at a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Delhi.
Patra alleged that this is not the first time the Congress has "violated" the rules. “The Congress party has done this in the past. Their leader Rahul Gandhi has never taken the Election Commission seriously. We have complained to the EC and we hope that strict action will be taken,” Patra added.
The Jharkhand unit of the BJP has lodged a complaint with the EC against the Congress and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) over the matter.
Patra also alleged that the Congress waited till the last moment so that it could appease minority voters. “Congress is conspiring to snatch the farmers’ lands in Karnataka and give them to the Waqf Board at the behest of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. There is no doubt that the Congress and the JMM have brought some points in their poll manifestos to carry forward the same conspiracy in Jharkhand,” he alleged.
He said that the Congress was trying to implement 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in Karnataka, which is what they were trying to replicate in Jharkhand. “The way the Congress conspired to snatch the lands from farmers and hand them over to the Waqf board, the Jharkhand manifesto has been brought by the Congress and JMM to realise such conspiracy,” he said.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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