Did not breach MCC by remarks on Sushma Swaraj, Jaitley: DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin
Chennai, Apr 7: DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday denied he had breached the Model Code of Conduct during the poll campaign for the just concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections by making some remarks about late BJP leaders Sushma Sawaraj and Arun Jaitley.
Responding to an Election Commission notice, issued on Tuesday, he said it "has not taken the whole alleged speech into consideration and only referred to two lines" from his speech.
The EC had issued the notice to Udhayanidhi Stalin for his alleged remarks that Swaraj and Jaitley died as they were "unable to tolerate the pressure and torture" given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The EC had asked him to respond to the notice before 5 pm on Wednesday, "failing which the Commission shall take a decision without any further reference to you".
In his reply, Udhayanidhi Stalin said the "tenor and intention of his entire speech must be appreciated" to decide the context of the extracted two lines uttered and urged the EC to furnish a transcript of the entire speech for him to furnish a full and proper reply.
"At the outset I deny that I have committed any breach of the Model Code of Conduct," he said.
The clause referred by the Commission only prohibits criticism of private life of leaders and workers of other parties, he said and added that the said lines if appreciated in spirit of the delivery of the entire speech taken as a whole, do not breach the MCC.
The notice had said the EC received a complaint from the BJP alleging that Udhayanidhi Stalin, while addressing a political gathering at Dharapuram on March 31, made a statement that "Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley (both Union ministers) died unable to tolerate the pressure and torture given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi".
The Commission said it is of the view that the contents of the speech made by him violated the provision of MCC which states that "criticism of other political parties, when made, shall be confined to their policies and programme, past record and work."
"Parties and candidates shall refrain from criticism of all aspects of private life, not connected with the public activities of the leaders or workers of other parties.
Criticism of other parties or their workers based on unverified allegations or distortion shall be avoided," it had said.
Elaborating, Udhayanidhi Stalin said he was only responding to Modi's accusation against him at a poll rally that he had reached high political office in DMK through short cut methods.
"The impugned speech is nothing but answer to that criticism wherein I have said that Mr Narendra Modi became Prime Minister only through short cut methods overlooking other senior leaders in BJP party while he was Chief Minister of Gujarat."
"I said that I was having a list of senior leaders who were sidelined by him. I gave the names of Mr (LK) Advani, Mr Yashwant Sinha, Late Mrs Sushma Swaraj and Mr Arun Jaitley. The words pressure and torture were not used by me in the said context as sought to be projected in the show cause notice," he claimed.
His entire speech in Tamil conveyed a "totally different" meaning, he claimed, adding, the notice did not establish he spoke about anyone's private life.
Stating that he held Modi, Swaraj and Jaitley in "high esteem in their public life and personal capacity," Udhayanidhi Stalin said he had no ill will against them.
Many "unsavoury and tasteless" comments had been made against him but his party chief MK Stalin had asked him to take them in his stride and questioned why the EC has not taken action against those who had commented on his personal life and family, including his grandfather and late DMK president M Karunanidhi.
He requested the Commission to accept his "interim reply" and permit him to give a detailed one after he received the full text of the speech in contention and the BJP's April 2 complaint.
After a high octane campaign for the Tamil Nadu elections ended on April 4, voting in 234 Assembly seats was held on Tuesday.
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Punjab: Blast near army cantt area in Amritsar, hours after explosion in Jalandhar
Chandigarh (PTI): An explosion occurred near the army cantonment area in Khasa late Tuesday night in Punjab's Amritsar, the second such incident which took place around three hours after a blast outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar.
According to the police, an investigation into both blast incidents is currently underway, and no injuries have been reported.
The first explosion happened around 8 pm in Jalandhar, while the second blast occurred at approximately 11 pm in Amritsar.
Amritsar (Rural) Senior Superintendent of Police Suhail Mir Qasim stated that police received reports of a loud sound at around 11 pm on a road in Khasa. "Our teams arrived on the scene immediately," he said.
Preliminary inspections indicated that someone had thrown an explosive device towards the boundary wall, leading to the explosion, according to the SSP.
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Police mentioned that a piece of a tin sheet covering the boundary wall had fallen as a result of the blast.
Following the explosion, a team of forensic and bomb disposal squad visited the site to collect samples.
Amritsar Rural Superintendent of Police Aditya S. Warrier, who also visited the scene, confirmed that further investigations are ongoing. Police added that a team of army officials also assessed the situation, after which the area was cordoned off.
CCTV footage from the vicinity shows the explosion occurring at night. A local villager reported that his family was awakened by the loud sound and came outside their home to see what had happened.
Before the Amritsar explosion, a blast took place outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar district around 8 pm on Tuesday, causing panic in the area.
CCTV footage captured the explosion, which resulted in a cloud of smoke. An unidentified man was seen running for cover following the blast.
The blast ripped apart a scooter, damaged a traffic signal pole and windowpanes of a nearby shop. Locals recounted that the scooter, which was parked outside the BSF headquarters, Punjab Frontier, caught fire shortly after a loud sound. It belonged to Gurpreet Singh, who regularly delivers parcels in the area.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday night, one of Gurpreet's relatives said that the scooter caught fire as he was approaching it. He immediately called his father and informed him about the incident.
Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur confirmed to reporters late Tuesday that an Activa scooter parked near the gate caught fire suddenly. She stated that Gurpreet is fully cooperating with the investigation.
Witnesses nearby reported hearing a loud sound following the explosion.
On April 27, an explosion occurred at a freight corridor rail track in Shambhu in Patiala. Police had arrested four members of a pro-Khalistan terror module, backed by Pakistan's ISI, for the blast.
In light of these incidents, opposition parties have condemned the AAP government for its handling of the situation.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the home portfolio, over the recent blasts.
"Three blasts in 10 days, two in a single day, May 5: Jalandhar outside BSF headquarters and Sri Amritsar Sahib Army area, April 27: Rajpura rail track. Continued intelligence failures and the collapse of law and order are a matter of grave concern. Chief Minister @BhagwantMann, who is also the state Home Minister, is busy with mimicry and cheap politics. He has forfeited the right to remain in office," Badal said in a post on X.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also slammed the Mann government over the two blasts.
"Back-to-back blasts have shaken Punjab. Yesterday in Jalandhar, and now near Khasa Camp in Amritsar, this is deeply alarming. Who is trying to destabilise our state? Why has the Punjab Government failed to prevent such incidents? What is the Government of India doing? Repeated lapses point to a serious breakdown of intelligence and security. Punjab's peace cannot be compromised. We demand accountability and immediate action," Warring said in a post on X.
