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Tamil Nadu Congress Moves Court Against PM Modi for Alleged Hate Speeches
The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) has filed a petition in the Madras High Court asking the court to direct Election Commission of India (ECI) to call for explanation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his alleged hate speeches during the ongoing election season. The TNCC accuses that the Prime Minister made derogatory comments targeting particularly Muslims and they allege this could undermine the integrity of India’s electoral process.
Despite numerous complaints filed with ECI on Modi’s hate speeches, the commission has only served a single show-cause notice to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as opposed to speaking directly to the prime minister according to TNCC. Selvaperunthagai K, President of TNCC who submitted a petition pointed out that since April 21st, Modi has been making offensive remarks about Muslims in various election rallies.
This petition reports specific instances where Modi called Muslims “intruders” and condemned their birth rates. It also accused him of distorting information regarding Congress party’s manifesto highlighting that such words can generate communal differences and tension countrywide.
Even though a formal representation was forwarded on May 1st requesting action against Modi’s statement by Chief Electoral Officer Office Chennai, there was no reply. The reason behind this move is that it wants ECI conducts an exhaustive review into what Modi said legally through this legal process.
Also, it claims that Modi’s statements are part of a larger plan intended at capturing electoral wins through divisive and communal language thereby threatening social harmony and electorally healthy nationhood. The matter came up before vacation Bench comprising Justices AD Jagadish Chandira and R Kalaimathi who directed petitioner first get his matter numbered by the Registry.
However, this litigation represents another significant confrontation between central leadership and TNCC focusing on implications of hate speech as well as its possible impact on BJP’s chances during election period.
