Mumbai: The NCP claimed Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation about a successful test of an anti-satellite missile violated the Model Code of Conduct for Lok Sabha polls. Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil, in a statement here, also ridiculed state minister Chandrakant Patil for reportedly saying that India had shot down an enemy country’s satellite. Modi Wednesday announced that India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability by shooting down a live satellite.
The Election Commission has already set up a committee to examine the issue in the light of the poll code. “Earlier, scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) would make announcement about its missions. But this time the prime minister declared shooting down of satellite. This is violation of Model Code of Conduct,” Patil said in a statement here. Referring to Chandrakant Patil’s reported statement, he said the BJP minister had made a “strange discovery”, and it was wrong to expect any better from him.
He also alleged that Modi’s foreign policy had failed, noting that the government could not ensure that Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist. India’s relations with neighbouring countries such as Nepal and Bhutan also came under strain in the last five years, the NCP leader said. Referring to some Congress and NCP leaders switching over to the BJP, Patil said his party had enough candidates, and did not need to import leaders from other parties.
Meanwhile, NCP’s candidate from Raigad Lok Sabha seat, Sunil Tatkare, filed his nomination Friday. Jayant Patil in his statement also said that the NCP will field a candidate from Jalgaon, while ally Congress will contest Raver, on which both the parties had staked claim earlier.