BJP’s anti-JD(U) ads on quota & terror banned

NEW DELHI: Objecting to two BJP print advertisements accusing the JD(U) government of going soft on terror to appease minorities and promising reservation to minorities “at the cost of Dalits/backwards”, the Election Commission on Friday asked the Bihar chief electoral officer to ensure that the said campaigns were not published for the rest of the Bihar campaign.
The two BJP advertisements were published in the Patna edition of a prominent Hindi daily on October 28 and 29, leading an incensed grand alliance to move the EC seeking a restraining order against their publication.
The first advertisement, published on October 28, criticized the RJD-JD(U)-Congress grand alliance for promising reservation for minorities, stating that it would cut into the share of Dalits and backward communities. Another advertisement on October 29 accused the Nitish government of being reluctant to act against Indian Mujahideen and SIMI elements on its soil and even claimed that it had refused to arrest IM terrorist Yasin Bhatkal after he was brought from Nepal.
READ ALSO:
Congress, JD(U) leaders complain against BJP to poll panel
The commission, after examining an interim report received from the Patna district election officer, took the view that both the advertisements had the potential to aggravate differences between different classes of citizens and also creating mutual hatred, ill-will and disharmony within the meaning of Sub Para 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Para 1 of the model code of conduct. The EC also found the advertisements in violation of Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 as well as Section 153A and 505 of the IPC.
The EC, in a communication to the Bihar chief electoral officer on Friday, asked him to direct the newspaper in which the advertisements had appeared not to publish/republish them or advertisements of a similar nature until completion of the state polls. The CEO was also told to direct the state BJP president to ensure that the two advertisements or advertisements of a similar nature were not released for publication in the print or electronic media.
The EC order further asked the state CEO to direct the Patna district magistrate to examine whether provisions of Section 127A of the RP Act, 1951, were duly complied with by the printer/publisher of the two advertisements. “If not, necessary penal action against the defaulter must be taken,” the commission said.
The commission also ordered all other district magistrates to comply with the aforesaid instructions within their respective jurisdictions.