On Wednesday, the BJP accused the Congress of compromising the election code by releasing its manifesto for the Jharkhand assembly elections within the period of 48 hours neutrality period commencing November 12.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, speaking to media in New Delhi, alleged that through this, the Congress is guilty of pre-poll violence that is forbidden during the restricted period meant for no campaign and no indecent influence on the voters before polls.
Besides the timing of the manifesto release, Patra alleged that Congress had framed policies that can least the SC, ST and OBC quotas for Muslims. He said this was part of a policy direction that may end up reducing the reserve point benefits of these communities, which is a worry to these groups.
Jharkhand’s chief election officer, K Ravi Kumar, said that the Election Commission had received complaints concerning the release. According to him, Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 bars political parties from making any appeal, including the release of a manifesto during the silent period for the election. In response, Kumar said that the commission would investigate such matters and take appropriate action if any of the country’s rules were violated.
While responding to it, Bandhu Tirkey, the chair of the Congress manifesto committee, said that the party is mulling over the provisions of the silent period and did accept the apprehensions raised by the BJP. “We have launched the manifesto, and I only heard of the BJP objections today. We will study the current rules,” Tirkey added.
The Congress manifesto was released a day before the BJP’s complaint and included several promises such as a caste-based census, increasing the creamy layer limit for OBCs from ₹8 lahks per annum to ₹10 lakh per annum.
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