Election of Tamil Nadu: Election Commission has asked A Raja for an explanation
New Delhi:
The Election Commission issued a notice Tuesday night to DMK deputy and party deputy general secretary A Raja for rude remarks against Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his birth ahead of next month’s elections.
Mr. Raja, 57, was instructed to explain his comments on Wednesday at 6 pm or earlier, otherwise the electoral body “will make a decision without further reference” to the former Union minister.
Based on a complaint from the ruling AIADMK, who wants Mr. Raja to be banned from campaigning for making “vulgar and scandalous speeches,” the ad read: “… he has been alleged to have made disparaging and scandalous (comments) against Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami … “
The notice concerned speeches delivered at Keelapalur and Meensuruti in Tamil Nadu on Friday.
“The Commission considers that the content of the speeches made by you is not only derogatory but also obscene and undermines the dignity of a woman’s motherhood, which appears to be a serious violation of the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct.” the notice read.
In his speech, Mr. Raja made rude comments about the Chief Minister and his birth, saying that he (Mr. Palaniswami) “was worth one rupee less than (the head of DMK MK) Stalin’s slipper.”
“Until the other day, Edappadi Palaniswami worked on ‘Vellamandi‘(market jaggery), how can you compete with Stalin? The value of Stalin’s chappal is more than you for one rupee. And do you challenge Stalin to challenge you? Raja had declared.
He also compared the rise of the two party leaders in politics, saying: “… it can be said that Stalin is born the right way, nine months after a proper marriage and rituals. While Edappadi is born as a premature baby and was born suddenly “.
Shortly after, A Raja apologized and said he had been “distressed” to learn that his comments had offended the Chief Minister. He said his comments “were not a personal criticism.”
“I was distressed to read in the media reports that the Chief Minister had been hurt by my words. It was taken out of context, misunderstood, but I regret …” he said.
On Sunday, Mr. Palaniswami choked on referring to the comments.
“I am not speaking only for myself … but what protection do your mothers and wives have if this is what the Chief Minister’s mother has to endure?” he asked voters at a rally in northern Chennai.
The Prime Minister has also received the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose BJP is allied with AIADMK. The prime minister responded to Raja, referring to it as an “outdated 2G missile,” a reference to the infamous 2G scam that rocked the country. The “missile” launched by the DMK and its ally Congress, he said, had a clear target: the women of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu votes in a single phase on April 6 and the results are due on May 2.
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