President sends EC report on Governor Kalyan Singh’s remarks to Home Ministry

Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh courted the controversy last week when he told reporters in Aligarh on March 23 that everyone wanted Modi to win and that it was necessary for the country.

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Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh. (File)

After the Election Commission wrote to the President about Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh’s remarks that Narendra Modi should be re-elected as the Prime Minister was in violation of the Model Code of Conduct, Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday forwarded the report to the Home Ministry.

Kovind, who has returned from Chile, has sent the Election Commission report to the Home Ministry for necessary action, ANI reported.

The last time a governor was found violating the Model Code was in the early 90s when Gulsher Ahmad, the then governor of Himachal Pradesh, was pulled up by the EC for campaigning for his son Sayeed Ahmed in Madhya Pradesh.

Gulsher Ahmad quit the post when the Commission expressed displeasure over the misuse of official machinery for his son’s poll campaign.

Singh courted the controversy last week when he told reporters in Aligarh on March 23 that everyone wanted Modi to win and that it was necessary for the country.

“Hum sabhi log BJP ke karyakarta hai aur iss naatey se hum zaroor chahengey ke BJP vijai ho. Sab chahengey ek baar phir sey kendra mein Modiji pradhanmantri banein. Modiji ka pradhanmantri banna ye desh ke liye avashyak hai, samaaj ke liye avashyak hai (We are all BJP workers, so we will want the BJP to win. Everyone will want Modi to become PM again. Modi becoming PM is necessary for the nation and society),” Singh had said.

Last week, the Commission had sought a factual report from the UP Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) over the remarks. The EC, after examining the report, is learnt to have decided that Singh’s remarks disrupt the level-playing field, and hence, violate the MCC.