EC bans BJP8217;s anti-Congress ad

Acting on a complaint from the Congress party, the EC carefully 8220;studied the ad8221; and concluded that it violated the model code adopted by all the major political parties of the country.

The code restrains political parties and candidates from criticising any aspect of political life not connected with the public activities of the leaders or workers of other parties.

The controversial ad which appeared in a national daily today says: 8220;To be fair, there will be some who are looking forward to the Congress this election-Sushil and Romesh Sharma in jail, Dawood Ibrahimin Karachi Mast Gul in Kabul, Quattrocchi in Italy, ISI in Islamabad. The country is still paying a price for their exploits. Just when they are on the run, will you usher in their mentors back to power8230;8221;

Reacting to the BJP8217;s advertisement, the Congress said that such practices would have far-reaching post-electoral implications.

8220;It is condemnable that such allegations should be made against a party that has a history of 100 years and has been in power for 45 years,8221; Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee DPCC spokesman Satish Dhamija said.

Meanwhile, the BJP withdrew the ad set for publication in other newspapers. The party8217;s official spokesperson Venkaiah Naidu said that he got the EC8217;s letter while he was in midst of a campaign and immediately decided to withdraw it.

8220;In deference to the wishes of the Election Commission, we have decided not to proceed further with the ad,8221; he said.

This is the first time that an election advertisement launched by a political party in Delhi had tobe withdrawn following a ban ordered by the Election Commission.