Journalism of Courage
A day after Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of engineering communal riots,the chief electoral officer,Madhya Pradesh,Friday began a probe responding to a complaint alleging that the Congress vice-president violated the code of conduct.
The Indore district returning officer has been asked to send a detailed report of the speech made Thursday at an election rally in Dussehra Maidan.
In a complaint lodged with the EC,state BJP chief Narendra Tomar accused Rahul of trying to whip up religious feelings and create a divide between the communities and thereby committed an offence.
Tomar alleged that the reference to 10-15 Muslim boys constituted an offence under Section 153 A of the IPC. Such untruths can disturb communal harmony in MP, he said,demanding that Rahul and other Congress leaders be booked.
Though Tomars complaint was accompanied by a CD of Rahuls speech,the commission asked for an official recording of the speech. The election machinery records all political rallies and only the CD of the official videography is considered for initiating action.
