EC: Ambedkar remarks violation of instructions, will be booked

New Delhi/Yavatmal: The Election Commission said on Thursday it has found a clear-cut violation of its instructions by Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar, who allegedly threatened to put the poll panel in jail for two days, and made it clear that he will be booked for his statement.
Earlier in the day, Digras police registered a case against Ambedkar for his remarks. The police have registered a case under sections 503 , 506 (criminal intimidation) and 189 of the IPC against Ambedkar.

Ambedkar, a three-time member of Parliament, had criticised the EC for not allowing political parties speak on the February 14 Pulwama terrorist attack.

“We have lost 40 soldiers but still sitting quietly. We have been asked to not speak on the Pulwama attack. How can the EC gag us? Our Constitution has given us the right to speak. I am not BJP. If voted to power, we will jail the Election Commission for two days,” Ambedkar said during a rally in Digras on Wednesday evening.

“The Pulwama massacre and the so-called air strike thereafter is nothing but a pre-planned drama to divert the attention of the people,” Ambedkar had said.

Deputy election commissioner Chandra Bhushan Kumar said in New Delhi the panel has received a report from the district election officer and he confirmed this statement in his report.

“This is a clear-cut violation of our instructions,” Kumar said. He said political leaders and people’s representatives should exercise “caution” when speaking on “sensitive” subjects.

The Dalit leader had also targeted PM Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah terming them biggest dacoits of the country and said they have enforced demonetization and shared the booty in the ratio of 40:60 with black money holders.

In another election rally in Nanded on Wednesday, Ambedkar had claimed the currency notes scrapped by the Modi government in November 2016 will be remonetised if he is elected.

The grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Solapur and Akola constituencies as a candidate of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) — an alliance of Ambedkar-led Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh and Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM.