New Delhi:
Congress on Friday urged the Election Commission to take cognisance of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi's "Modi ki Army" comment and take a "decisive" action to deter others from making such a statement.
Its chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged that those who have trampled upon the democracy are challenging constitutional authorities. The EC should take action against them, failing which people will come forward and "take control", "like Lord Krishna did", he warned.
If the EC does not take action against the two leaders, Surjewala said, his party would "remind" the poll panel of its responsibilities.
At an election rally in Ghaziabad on April 1, Adityanath had described the Indian Army as "Modi ji ki sena" to make a distinction between the Army's response to terrorists under the Modi government.
Three days later in Lucknow, Naqvi was caught on camera making a similar comment. He, however, tried to wriggle out of the controversy that had been raging, saying he did not make the comment in as many words.
The Election Commission has issued a show-cause notice to Adityanath for his controversial comment and sought his response.
"Those people who are insulting the armed forces and using them for their political gains, those who have the audacity to politicise the Army and those who are polluting democracy and murdering it, and those who are trampling upon the democratic values and ridiculing the Constitution and the law, the Election Commission should take note of such people and act against them," he told reporters.
"What kind of Election Commission is this. I am sorry to point out, but are they not aware of their constitutional powers as this raises doubts on the fairness of the Election Commission," he said.
Surjewala said the EC "should take decisive action against those who have dared to trample the Constitution".
