Election Commission issues report on action taken for enforcement of poll code: Guess on whom it has gone soft

The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday issued its second suo moto report on action taken for the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct during the Lok Sabha polls.

The poll panel said: “Approximately 425 major complaints, excluding canvassing-related or clarificatory complaints, have been filed by various political parties and candidates at the level of ECI and CEOs. Of these, action has been taken (or matter disposed) in 400 cases. Approximately 170, 95 and 160 complaints were filed by the INC, the BJP and others respectively. Most of these complaints have been acted upon.”

Here are some of the major complaints where the EC has yet to act or has left enforcement to local authorities:

• Deployment of children to greet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a road show in Coimbatore on March 18: The district election officer ordered a probe and an FIR was filed against the schools that sent children. The EC however did not send any notice to the BJP or Modi.
• The Congress complaints on March 18, April 8, April 21 and April 25 (against Modi for his speech in Tonk) against the misuse of armed forces for BJP propaganda: No action by the EC.
• Derogatory images posted by the Odisha BJP on social media against Rahul Gandhi. The Congress complained on March 20: No publicly declared action by the EC
• The Congress's complaint on April 2 against the BJP's post on X linking the Opposition party — without proof — to international philanthropist George Soros: No action by the EC.
• Several complaints throughout the election period against top BJP leaders for allegedly exploiting religious sentiments or inciting hatred between communities, or characterising the Congress as a party that caters only to minorities. Leaders named include Modi, Union ministers Amit Shah, Gajendra Shekhawat, Anurag Thakur and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath: No action by the EC on any of these senior BJP leaders for these remarks so far.
• The BJP complaint against Rahul Gandhi for his speech in Kottayam on April 18 in which he said: “How can you (PM) tell the people of Tamil Nadu to not speak Tamil, the people of Kerala to not speak Malayalam, people... Every single Indian language is as important as any other language. The BJP does this with language, place, caste and religion. Whenever they get an opportunity, they divide the country.”: No punitive action by the EC yet.
• Complaints from multiple parties against the Prime Minister’s speech in Banswara alleging that the Congress's manifesto had pledged to "survey" and "attach" citizens' properties and distribute them disproportionately among Muslims, "who have more children.": No punitive action by the EC yet.