On May 4th, a video containing animated characters of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Rahul Gandhi was posted by BJP Karnataka on their official ‘X’ handle’ (formerly Twitter). The CPIML filed a complaint with the ECI and the CEO Karnataka seeking immediate action against BJP National and State Presidents for the same.
In the video, SC, ST & OBC communities are shown to be ‘eggs’ in a basket, where Rahul Gandhi places a larger egg, with the word ‘Muslim’ written on it, and later feeds the bird (wearing a skull cap) hatched from that ‘egg’ with a box termed ‘funds’, as the other birds watch. The bird, termed ‘Muslim’, then kicks the other birds out of the nest. The video was a clear attempt to cause enmity and hatred against the Muslim community.
The Karnataka Police have registered an FIR on May 4th regarding the same against BJP State President BY Vijayendra, and the ECI has directed ‘X’ to take down the content. Despite the same, the video has not been taken down and has about 9.3 million views.
In the complaint filed, the CPIML Liberation has demanded that immediate and necessary action be initiated against BJP National President JP Nadda, BJP National Social Media In-charge Amit Malviya, BJP Karnataka President BY Vijayendra in accordance with the relevant provisions of Model Code of Conduct, The Representation of People’s Act, and the Constitution of India. CPIML demanded that the social media post be taken down immediately and FIRs be filed against the BJP for the same. It was also urged that stringent measures be implemented to prevent the propagation of hate speech and communal rhetoric by political leaders and political parties during the Lok Sabha elections. The ECI was also urged to take all necessary steps to uphold the principles of secularism, equality, and fraternity enshrined in the Constitution, and safeguard the rights and dignity of all citizens, irrespective of their religious affiliation.
It may be noted that the ECI had issued an “Advisory to political parties on plummeting level of public discourse during campaigning” dated March 1st, 2024, which reiterated that the MCC has the force of law and that the political parties are to comply with the same. This was an eye wash, as hate speech continues unabated this election season, with the ECI being a mute spectator. The video of BJP Karnataka has blatantly violated the Advisory, which also refers to “several trends”, which are at work “destabilizing the decorum of the political discourse during campaigning”. One such trend that is clearly discernible are the increasing incidents of BJP openly seeking votes in the name of religion and communal fear-mongering, including the Prime Minister himself.
The video is not only promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, but is also prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different communities, and hence, is an offense punishable under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code. Further, the video depicts the SC and ST community being "kicked" by another religion (Muslim), is an intent to prevent or intimidate a member of Schedule caste or tribe to not vote for a particular candidate, attracting offense punishable under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989.
Abdication of Responsibility by ECI?
In a statement, CPI(ML) General Secretary Com. Dipankar raised question about the silence of the Election Commission of India in relation to brazen violation of Model Code of Conduct by BJP leaders. Referring to several incidents communal-hate speech by BJP leaders, including PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, Com. Dipankar said, “has ECI decided to exempt BJP from any accountability for its brazen violations of the model code? From X to Instagram, BJP has been posting toxic animation videos. Is the ECI going to grant it impunity, just belatedly getting a few such posts taken down?”
Earlier, CPIML had filed a complaint with against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for gross violation of Section 123(3A) of RPA and Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and promoting enmity and hatred on grounds of religion.
In this widely reported speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajasthan’s Banswara on April 21, 2024 while referring to the Congress Manifesto has engaged in blatant lies, crudity and communal dog-whistling against the Muslim community, which is violative of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 and the Model Code of Conduct for the elections.
On the issue, first time in commission’s history, the ECI issued show cause notice to the Party president rather than the leader in question. The ECI’s notice was void of any direct reference to the brazen hate speech by Prime Minister Modi and instead attached the copy of complaints received by CPIML and other political parties. Despite the notice being issued on April 29, till now no action has been initiated by ECI against PM Modi’s hate speech.
