EC : Clean chit to PM Modi on his ‘nuclear button for Diwali’
NEW DELHI : : Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi a clean chit for the third time in three days, for his ‘our nuke is not for Diwali’ remark in a rally at Barmer in Rajasthan on April 21. For his comment that India too has nuclear weapons and does not care about Pakistan’s threats. The comment, the Election Commission said, does not violate the Model Code of Conduct – a set of dos and don’ts for political parties and the government ahead of elections.
The Election Commission has given clean chit to PM Narendra Modi on his ‘nuclear button for Diwali’ remark at Barmer in Rajasthan. This is the third time that the poll body has given green signal to the prime minister. Earlier, the EC had said that PM Modi’s Wardha and Latur speeches are not violation of model code of conduct.
Congress’s east UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been issued a notice by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for laughing as a bunch of children use abusive language against PM Modi.
“The Commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted”, the poll body said. Mr Modi, while addressing an election rally on April 21, stated that “the country has stopped getting scared of Pakistan’s threats. Else every other day Pakistan used to say ‘we have nuclear button. What do we have then? Have we kept it for Diwali”?
The opposition Congress had moved the Commission alleging that the prime minister ‘brazenly’ violated the poll code by continuously invoking the Defence forces in his speeches. Highlighting the party’s national security theme at a rally in Rajasthan’s Barmer, the Prime Minister had jeered at Pakistan.
“India has quit the policy of being scared of Pakistani threats… Else, every other day they announced, ‘We have nuclear button, we have nuclear button’. So what do we have then? Are those being saved for Diwali?” he had said.His remarks were vehemently panned by the opposition, which said it was “boastful” and “irresponsible”.
The Congress’s Anand Sharma said such statements “point to the growing desperation” of the BJP. “Prime Minister’s boastful claims of being ready for a nuclear missile attack on Pakistan and US intervention are uncalled for and not in interest of national security,” he tweeted.
The Election Commission was asked by the Supreme Court today to expedite their decision on the pending complaints against PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. The court has given it time till Monday. The Congress, whose appeal was being heard by the top court, has contended that altogether, 11 complaints are pending against the Prime Minister and Mr Shah. The Commission, which resolved the third complaint today, has eight more to go.(With Agency Inputs ).
