Congress goes to ECI against PM Modi, says sad he called party manifesto 'bundle of lies'

The Congress on Monday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to act against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for comparing the party’s  manifesto to the Muslim League’s ideology before Independence. This is the first complaint against the prime minister in the build up to the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections to begin on 19 April.

The Congress complaint alleged that PM Modi has violated the model code of conduct (MCC) and various provisions of the IPC regarding spreading enmity between groups based on religion. In this context, the Congress specifically cited the PM’s remarks at a rally in Ajmer on 6 April, where he called the Congress’ manifesto a “bundle of lies” which intended to “impose thoughts that the Muslim League had before Independence”.

In an X post in Hindi quoting senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid regarding the request to the ECI, the Congress wrote, "It is very sad that in his speeches, Narendra Modi has called the Congress manifesto a bundle of lies. You can have differences with any party, but it is sad to say such a thing about the manifesto of a national level party. PM Modi also said this seems to be the manifesto of those parties who are opposing the freedom of our secular society.

"We believe that the Prime Minister has no right to say such a thing. We have raised this matter with the Election Commission and have specifically requested them to take it seriously and take action on it."

Speaking to the media alongside Khurshid, party spokesperson Pawan Khera also said, "Photos of the prime minister in military uniform are being misused during the election campaign. There is already an existing Election Commission advisory that this cannot be done during elections. We have strongly urged the commission to take action on this issue as the BJP is continuously committing such crimes."

The Congress has alleged that the comments made by PM Modi are in direct violation of the MCC and section 153 of the IPC, calling them "false, uninformed and vexatious", and part of a concerted effort by the BJP to invoke communal discord and make the public believe that the Congress wishes to “divide India”.

The complaint was one of six submitted by a delegation of Congress leaders to the ECI, Congress MP and general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

“This is the time for the Election Commission to demonstrate its independence by ensuring a level playing field for all parties. We live in hope that the Hon’ble Commission will uphold its Constitutional mandate. For our part, we will continue to pursue all avenues, political and legal, to expose this regime,” Ramesh said.

Among the other complaints was one against "life size hoardings and banners of the PM installed in various colleges of the Delhi University under the 'Viksit Bharat @2047: Voice of Youth Campaign' in violation of the provision of the MCC as per which i) All advertisements, hoardings made at the cost of the public exchequer cannot be used by political parties as the same amounts to election campaigning at the public's expense ii) Photographs of Ministers and other political functionaries cannot be displayed in Government owned buildings/premises as the same would go against the principles of 'level playing field'."

The party also lodged a complaint "Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, for allegedly giving false information pertaining to his financial status in his election affidavit".