PM revealing details of a sensitive military operation is a poll code violation,Yechury writes to EC
New Delhi, May 12: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury has written to the Election Commission against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly violating the poll code by sharing operational details of a "sensitive" defence mission in a television interview to influence voters.
In his letter to the EC, Yechury has alleged Modi's statements were in clear and deliberate violation of the guidelines which were re-issued and reiterated by the Election Commission before the first round of polling, making it clear that the armed forces, which belong to all of India, cannot be a subject for hyperbolic and false claims by any party.
In an interview on Saturday, Modi had said he approved the Indian Air Force's cross-border mission in Balakot, Pakistan, despite inclement weather and against the advice of experts as he felt cloud cover would hide the Indian fighter jets from Pakistani radar.
Modi said he relied on his "raw wisdom" to dispel the doubts of the defence experts who had planned the mission.
"I am surprised that the country's pundits who abuse me never figured this out," he said, referring to rain on the night of the air strike.
The CPI(M) general secretary said, "This interview wherein Modi gave out operational details of a sensitive military mission, with a purpose to influence the voters during the silent period of the campaign needs to be recorded and acted upon by the Commission.
"It appears that Modi is mocking the Election Commission by violating all rules, codes and guidelines with impunity with damaging consequences for our democracy, of which the Election Commission is the custodian. We hope that you will uphold the prestige, honour and credibility of the Election Commission and initiate action against Modi," he said.
Yechury further said based on the poll body's recent decisions on BJP leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi making alleged poll code violations earlier, it was "widely perceived" that Modi was being treated as though he was outside the purview of the Model Code of Conduct.
Yechury further lashed out at Modi for continuing to use the armed forces in his speech.
In an election rally in Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, the prime minister is reported to have said, "Today terrorists were killed by our Army in Kashmir. Now some people are worried as to why did Modi kill the terrorists when voting is underway? An armed terrorist is attacking, do my jawans go to the Election Commission to seek permission to kill him?"
"Note: He (Modi) claims that he killed the terrorists not our armed forces!" Yechury said.
The Left leader pointed out that similar "violations" have been brought to the notice of the EC earlier too.
"The commission, however, seems to think that Modi and Shri Amit Shah are above the electoral process and the Model Code of Conduct does not apply to them. This has been noted by myriad cartoonists, newspaper editorials and commentators. I hope that the Election Commission will now prove them wrong and initiate prompt and suitable action against Modi," he said.
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Nitish Kumar's son Nishant among 32 to take oath as Bihar ministers
Patna (PTI): In a major expansion of the Cabinet of Bihar's first BJP-led government, JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar's son Nishant Kumar and 31 others took oath as ministers on Thursday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Altogether 32 leaders, drawn from all constituents of the five-party NDA in the state, were administered the oath of office by Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain at a grand ceremony that was also attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Health Minister J P Nadda and BJP president Nitin Nabin.
Prominent inductees included Nishant Kumar, the son of JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, who stepped down as chief minister last month to enter the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP, which is the single largest party in the 243-member assembly with 89 MLAs, has 15 ministers, who took oath on Thursday.
Most of the inductees were those who were part of the Nitish Kumar cabinet formed in November last year after the NDA stormed back to power in the assembly polls.
The JD(U) is represented by a total of 15 ministers, 13 of whom took the oath at the Gandhi Maidan on Thursday. Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav had taken oath in April along with Samrat Choudhary and were designated as deputy chief ministers.
Sanjay Kumar Singh and Sanjay Kumar Paswan, both from the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) headed by Union minister Chirag Paswan, are back as ministers, and so are Santosh Kumar Suman and Deepak Prakash, sons of Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi of the Hindustani Awam Morcha and Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, respectively.
