BJP will reply to EC notice to Modi: Jaitley

Ahmedabad, Dec 7 (UNI) Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley today said the party will respond to the show-cause notice issued to Gujarat Chief Minsiter Narendra Modi by the Election Commission for his comments on the Sohrabuddin encounter case.

Mr Jaitley told reporters, ''We are definitely going to reply to the Election Commission. The EC is a Constitutional institution and we have full faith in it, and that justice will be given to us.'' Mr Jaitley said Mr Modi had already clarified that his comments on the Sohrabuddin case were in response to the criticism made by some Congress leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, at public rallies or before the media.

On Ms Gandhi's reported utterances describing Mr Modi as ''Merchant of death'' and reported statements by AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh on the existence of ''Hindu Terrorism'' in Gujarat, Mr jaitley said such statements too are tantamount to violating the code of conduct.

''We in BJP believe that as a political Party, we have every right to defend ourselves and our party against such criticisms and we had simply exercised that right,'' he commented.

''It would have been better if before issuing the notice to Mr Modi, the Election Commission had issued notices to Ms Gandhi and Mr Singh for their criticism and comments,'' Mr Jaitley added.

UNI