NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Thursday barred former Union minister and DMK leader A Raja from campaigning for 48 hours with immediate effect and dropped him from the list of DMK star campaigners in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, over his “derogatory” and “obscene” remarks against Tamil Nadu chief minister E K Palaniswami.
The poll panel also advised Raja “to be watchful and not to make intemperate, indecent, derogatory, obscene remarks and lower the dignity of women in future during the election campaign”.
The 48-hour ban means that Raja would not be able to address any public meetings, rallies, press conferences or even give media interviews until April 3.
Until the silence period kicks in for the Tamil Nadu poll on April 4 evening, any expenditure on campaigning by him would have to be borne by the respective candidate or candidates.
While Raja had, in an interim reply to the EC notice served on him on March 30, denied the allegations of having made the abusive speech and demanded a copy of the speech and AIADMK complaint, besides requesting an opportunity to give a detailed reply and personal hearing with his advocate, EC on Thursday said his reply was found unsatisfactory and termed his request for more time as “an attempt to buy time which the Commission cannot afford to give in the midst of elections”.
Accordingly, EC, after considering all facts, documents, reports and Raja’s reply, reprimanded him for violation of the model code of conduct, delisted him from DMK star campaigners list; and debarred him from campaigning for 48 hours with immediate effect.
EC had received a complaint from AIADMK on March 27 through Tamil Nadu chief electoral officer, wherein it was alleged that Raja had made a derogatory and scandalous speech against Palaniswami during the election campaign on March 26 at Thousand Lights Assembly Constituency.
As per the transcripts of his speeches at Keelapur and Meensurupatti, Raja had, in Keelapur, stated: “ Stalin is a child of a good relationship and good birth while Edapadi Palaniswami is a child of a bad relationship and a prematurely born child”.
In his Meensurupatti speech, Raja said: “You crawled and held Sasikala’s feet to come to this position…whereas, born in an illegal manner, in a premature birth is EPS”.
Pointing to the provision in the model code that requires criticism of rival political parties to be confined to their policies and programme, past record and work and not extend to private lives of leaders, EC said that on considering Raja’s statements and reports, it had found the contents of his speech made as not only derogatory but also obscene and which lowered the dignity of motherhood of women and “which is a serious violation of the provisions of model code of conduct”.