Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut gets EC notice for violating poll code
In a signed article in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Sunday, Raut said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should see to it that Begusarai CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar does not get elected to the Lok Sabha, “even at the cost of tampering EVMs”.
lok sabha elections Updated: Apr 02, 2019 11:53 ISTThe Mumbai district election officer on Monday slapped a notice on Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, who is also the executive editor of Marathi daily Saamana, for violation of the model code of conduct.
In a signed article in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Sunday, Raut said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should see to it that Begusarai CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar does not get elected to the Lok Sabha, “even at the cost of tampering EVMs”. He called Kumar a “bottle of poison” and said that his victory would mean a defeat of the Constitution. “It is the responsibility of the BJP to defeat Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai... It will do even if there is tampering of EVMs happen in Begusarai, but the bottle of poison should not reach the Lok Sabha,” he said in his column.
The notice, a copy of which is with HT, stated, “It has come to light that a line – it will do if there is tampering of EVM in Begusarai –was used in the column, Rok-Thok, in daily Saamana. Therefore, the aforementioned column has created doubt in the use of EVMs, maligned the election process and violated the model code of conduct.”
Raut has been given time till 5pm on April 3 to respond to the notice. Despite several attempts, Raut could not be reached for a comment.
First Published: Apr 02, 2019 11:53 IST