Several statements of PM Modi violate Model Code of Conduct: Sitaram Yechury
Kozhikode (Kerala), Apr 18: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making statements which were allegedly violative of the Model Code of Conduct during his Lok Sabha poll campaign in various parts of the country.
Yechury said that he has given a complaint in this regard to the Election Commission listing out the statements made by Modi allegedly "aimed at sharpening communal polarisation on the issue of Ram".
The veteran CPI(M) leader was speaking to the media in this north Kerala district where he also criticised the Congress and the UDF for accusing the Left front of not opposing Modi and the BJP.
He said that it was "strange" that the Congress and the UDF were accusing the LDF, particularly the CPI(M), of being silent on attacking Modi.
Yechury said that he was one of the first political leaders to be arrested for opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Left party was the one which moved a habeas corpus plea in the Supreme Court against alleged detention of politicians in Kashmir after Article 370 was abrogated and the CPI(M) was also the first to oppose the electoral bonds in the top court.
He said that in all these issues and various others, it was the CPI(M) which was at the front opposing the saffron party and questioned "in all these instances where were those who charge us with not opposing the BJP".
Yechury's statement came in the wake of the social media campaign against CPI(M)'s Vatakara LS candidate K K Shailaja.
Terming the campaign against her as "virulent and obscene", he said that it indicates that she has won the election.
Yechury also urged the Congress to introspect as many of their leaders have left the party to join the BJP.
"But they attack us by saying that we are not anti-Modi. So, let us talk on the basis of facts and substance and not on the basis of personal attacks," he said.
The Marxist veteran further said that decorum needs to be maintained by all during political campaigning.
"My only appeal to everybody concerned is to definitely criticise, campaign against and attack our political position and policies, but do not go to such lengths as to telling untruths and conducting personal attacks. Let us maintain the decorum of the campaign," he said.
An activist of Congress-ally Indian Union Muslim League has been booked by police for allegedly making objectionable remarks on social media platforms against Shailaja.
The CPI(M) has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Congress candidate from Vatakara Shafi Parambil, alleging that the cyber attack on Shailaja was being carried out with his knowledge.
The Congress rubbished the charges of malicious campaigning against Shailaja by UDF activists and had said the ruling party was trying to cook up stories as the election campaign was nearing the final stage.
The Lok Sabha elections will be held in Kerala on April 26 and the results will be declared on June 4.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
