EC gives another clean chit to PM Modi, this time for ‘Bhrashtachari No. 1' remark

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday issued clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 'Bhrashtachari No1' (corrupt no. 1) remark against former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi at a poll rally in Uttar Pradesh last week. 

“Prima facie, we did not figure out any literal violation of MCC as given in Election Commission of India instructions. Case is therefore disposed off,” the poll panel said while giving clean chit to the prime minister.  

EC on complaint against PM over 'Bhrashtachari No1' remark against Rajiv Gandhi: Prima facie, we did not figure out any literal violation of MCC as given in Election Commission of India instructions. Case is therefore disposed off. pic.twitter.com/flRb6uzoVL

— ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2019

Addressing a poll rally in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, PM Modi had targeted former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi while attacking Rahul Gandhi.

"Your father (Rajiv Gandhi) was termed Mr Clean by his courtiers, but his life ended as bhrashtachari number 1 (corrupt number 1)," the prime minister had said.

The Congress had demanded that PM Modi be barred from election campaigning for calling the former prime minister ‘corrupt’. Senior Congress leaders Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Salman Khurshid, Rajeev Shukla met Election Commission on Monday evening to lodge a complaint against him.

"The comments of Prime Minister Modi about Rajiv Gandhi ji are serious in nature. The language he used is shameful, which cannot be uttered again," Singhvi told reporters outside the Nirvachan Bhavan, the EC headquarters.

"We have asked the commission officials to bar Modi ji from further campaigning this election."

In an additional affidavit filed before the court, Congress MP Sushmita Dev, said that by making extremely derogatory comments on Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister has committed an "act unbecoming of the high office he holds; made unprecedented obscene/ derogatory remarks in a speech on May 6 by referring to present Congress President Rahul Gandhi's late father and former Prime Minster of India Rajiv Gandhi, in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh."

The Congress also attacked the lack of transparency in the functioning of the EC, and claimed that dissent on record by one of the Election Commissioners has not been provided with the order.