'Wrong to say we didn't give Congress appointment', says EC

The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday in response to Congress' allegations said that it is wrong to say that they didn't give the party any appointment or delayed it.

"It is not right to say that we didn't give the Congress an appointment or delayed one. It was sought around 8:15 pm and after consulting with others in the commission, the meeting was granted at 9:15 pm. It's completely wrong to say that we are biased because when the Rajya Sabha polls order was against the BJP, did they complain?"

The remarks comes after Congress alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has violated the model code of conduct.

The Congress had attacked Modi for participating in a "roadshow" in Ranip, Ahmedabad, and alleged that he had violated the model code of conduct for the Gujarat Assembly Elections 2017.

Congress also trained its guns on the Election Commission and said it was behaving like a "puppet" of the government and said Chief Election Commissioner Achal Joti was behaving like Modi's "secretary".

"The PM's violations are not seen by the EC. Its action amounts to police saying they have not seen a murder taking place in front of their eyes unless somebody comes up with an FIR." Congress party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said even on Wednesday, the Congress sought an appointment with the Election Commission and was told the panel would meet them on Thursday morning.

"It was only after we threatened to stage a dharna that we were given an appointment at 10.15 at night," he said.

Surjewala also wondered what the Election Commission observers and the staff were doing about Modi's violations.

The Congress party further raised an objection to the Election Commission's notice to party president Rahul Gandhi in the wake of an interview to a TV channel on the last day of the election campaign in Gujarat.

The EC had directed Gujarat's Chief Election Officer BB Swain to file an FIR against channels in the state that telecast Rahul Gandhi's interview. Gandhi, on the other hand, has been asked to explain his actions before 18 December.

Meanwhile, polling for Gujarat's final phase is currently underway and the results will be declared on 18 December.

OneIndia News