BJP meets EC demanding action against Stalin and Mamata

Ahead of the polls on Tuesday, the BJP on Monday met the Election Commission demanding appropriate action against Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly promoting enmity between communities and other electoral offences and DMK chief MK Stalin for "false allegations" against PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, BJP national secretary Sunil Deodhar, senior leader GVL Narasimha Rao and others submitted memorandums to the poll body against their key opponents in the Assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. The memorandum against Banerjee alleges that the TMC leader in an election meeting at Tarkeshwar on April 3 had appealed to the Muslim voters not to let their votes get split among different political parties. They alleged that her appeal to minority voters is divisive and communal as she invoked religion to garner votes for Trinamool.

"Instead, she exhorted that they should cast their votes en-block to her party. While making the appeal, she suggested that minorities (Muslims) must not listen to 'shaitaan' (probably ISF'S Abbas Siddiqui or AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi) and let their votes split. She further warned minority voters that they would face the biggest danger if the BJP came to power in Bengal," the memorandum said.

The memorandum against Stalin alleges that in his public address at Jayankondam in Ariyalur, he "levelled false allegations against the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister, saying: Modi while coming to Dharapuram two days back came with bundles of money bags. He (Modi) gave those bundles in Dharapuram. Tomorrow Amit Shah will be coming. He will also come with bundles of money bags'." It further alleged that personal allegations lacking any shred of evidence or substantiation are in violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

"The aforementioned false, baseless and frivolous allegations against BJP's top leadership and the Prime Minister by Stalin are in clear violation of the election code. We request that the video of the address of Stalin be requisitioned from the election observers appointed by the Commission. It is also requested that the Commission may take immediate and exemplary action against Stalin," it said.

The BJP also repeated its previous complaint against Stalin's son Udaynidhi Stalin for raising false allegations on the PM of "causing the death of former Union Ministers Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley".