BJP's Basangouda Patil Yatnal gets EC notice for 'vishkanya' remark against Sonia Gandhi
New Delhi, May 3: The Election Commission on Wednesday issued notices to Congress MLA Priyank Kharge for his "nalayak beta" remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and to BJP legislator Basangouda Patil Yatnal for his "vishkanya" jibe at former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
The separate EC notices said the two have prima facie violated provisions of the model code in Karnataka.
The notices came a day after a strong advisory was issued by the poll panel asking parties and their leaders to exercise restraint in their utterances during electioneering in Karnataka.
Both Kharge and Yatnal have been asked to explain by 5 PM Thursday as to why action should not be taken against them.
While Kharge is Congress' candidate from Chittapur, Yatnal is BJP's star campaigner and a candidate from Bijapur City.
In its notice to Kharge, the EC referred to a clause in the poll code which states that "Political parties and candidates shall refrain from criticism of all aspects of private life, not connected with the public activities of the leaders and workers of the other parties..."
It said "the Commission is prima facie of the opinion that you have violated the aforesaid provision of MCC by making the said statement."
In its notice to Yatnal, District Election Officer Koppal cited same clauses of the model code and said "a personal attack remark against a rival party leader is found to be made by you ...which is in violation of the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct..."
The BJP had moved the Commission on Tuesday against Kharge for his remark while the EC had taken cognisance of Yaatnal's statement through media reports.
Taking serious note of the "plummeting level of campaign discourse" during electioneering in Karnataka, the Election Commission on Tuesday asked political parties and their star campaigners to exercise caution and restraint in their utterances and not to vitiate the election atmosphere.
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The poll panel also referred to the instances of "inappropriate vocabulary and language" used during the ongoing campaign by people, "in particular, by those invested with the statutory status of star campaigner".
"Such instances have occasioned various complaints, cross complaints and have also attracted negative media attention," the EC said in a statement.
Campaigning for the May 10 polls is hotting up with the Congress and the BJP being engaged in a war of words.
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3rd T20I: A three-match 'audition' starts for Gill to find his game back
Dharamsala (PTI): The countdown to save his place in the playing XI begins for a beleaguered Shubman Gill, who is likely to get three matches against South Africa to prove his worth before the Indian team management switches to a ‘Plan B’ ahead of the T20 World Cup, starting in six weeks.
As India gear up to play the third T20I against the Proteas on Sunday in sub-10-degree temperatures in the lap of the ice-clad Dhauladhar range, things are suddenly heating up in the Indian dressing room, with the prolonged poor form of skipper Suryakumar Yadav coming under the scanner.
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Worse, his deputy Shubman Gill, who was pushed into the XI at the expense of a settled Sanju Samson, is not inspiring much confidence.
The South African pace attack featuring Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Ottniel Baartman and Lutho Sipamla — has shown how to bowl on Indian tracks, and the HPCA Stadium strip, offering extra bounce and some movement off the surface, will certainly keep them interested.
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Among all T20 sides, South Africa, in terms of personnel, appears to have the requisite balance to win the trophy in the Indian subcontinent this time. Quinton de Kock’s return, along with the likes of Aiden Markram, Dewald Brevis, Donovan Ferreira, David Miller and all-rounder Jansen, gives their batting an intimidating look.
With only eight games, starting from the third T20I, left before the start of the T20 World Cup title defence, India's under-fire head coach Gautam Gambhir won't be able to afford, two out-of-form top-order batters in the starting line-up.
Being the skipper of the side, Surya will certainly have immunity going into the T20 World Cup despite being completely out of form for the past one year but same can't be said about Gill, who wasn't the original choice as an opener.
Gill's entry into the T20 set-up was a classic case of trying to fix something that ain't broken and things haven't looked good so far.
In this backdrop, Gill would need to bat out of his skin to prove that Ajit Agarkar-led committee wasn't wrong in throwing Samson under the bus for one bad series against England.
The stylish Indian Test and ODI skipper will have to find his T20 game and at least score in two of the three matches if he doesn't want Samson to get his rightful place back or for that matter, find Yashasvi Jaiswal, with a fabulous T20I strike-rate of 165, enter the fray during New Zealand series.
Lack of clarity
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While head coach Gambhir is too proud a person to admit but sending Axar Patel as a one drop batter during the second T20I was a "tactical brain fade" from the team's think-tank.
The kind misstep that was taken with Axar's promotion is unlikely to be repeated in the third game where skipper is expected to go back to No.3 where he has got a lot of success in his first few years at the international level.
Similarly, Shivam Dube being sent at number eight due to the shuffling of batting order was another poor call which would need course correction in the next game.
Is there a place for Kuldeep Yadav?
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Kuldeep Yadav is one bowler who has consistently troubled the Proteas batter but in an Indian team where batting till No. 8 is non-negotiable, the left-arm wrist spinner often finds himself getting the rough end of the stick.
At Dharamsala too, he might have to sit out as Kuldeep and Varun Chakravarthy, two non-batters can't be clubbed in the same T20 playing eleven as that would lead to compromise in batting depth.
While Arshdeep hasn't had a good series so far, it will be interesting to find if team management can find a place for Kuldeep in the playing eleven with Hardik Pandya sharing the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah.
The five-match series is currently tied 1-1.
Teams:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, NT Tilak Verma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Lutho Sipamla, Ottniel Baartman, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, George Linde.
Match Starts at 7 pm.
