‘An avoidable narrative’: EC criticises Jharkhand’s letter against Himanta Sarma, Shivraj Chouhan
The state government had accused the BJP leaders of having a ‘propensity to foment hatred across different communities’.
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The Jharkhand government’s September 2 letter accusing Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of having a “propensity to foment hatred” was written to promote “an avoidable narrative of violation of federal space”, the Election Commission has said, reported The Indian Express on Friday.
On September 2, Jharkhand Cabinet Secretary Vandana Dadel told the poll panel that Sarma and Chouhan have “indulged in provocative and hostile statements, blatant allegations to the media against the administration of the state” on each visit, according to the newspaper.
The Bharatiya Janata Party appointed Sarma and Chouhan as the election in-charges of Jharkhand on June 17 for the Assembly polls this year, the date of which is yet to be announced. Both leaders have since made frequent visits to the state.
Responding to Dadel’s letter on Monday, the poll panel called it “more of a posturing”, The Indian Express reported.
The letter was written “apparently to avoid compliance of lawful directions of ECI [Election Commission] on evidently untenable grounds”, it claimed.
The Election Commission said that after it issued an order against former Deoghar Deputy Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri on December 6, 2021, he had challenged it in the Jharkhand High Court. Subsequently, he got relief from the court.
Last month, another two-judge bench stayed the order...
