Rahul Gandhi asks for week to respond to EC notice on his speeches

New Delhi, Nov 4: Congress vice president

Monday asked for a week to respond to an Election Commission (EC) notice on his speeches, including one in which he alleged that youth affected by the Muzaffarnagar riots were being approached by Pakistan's ISI.

"Rahul Gandhi has asked for one week to respond to the notice," an EC source told IANS.

EC viewed CDs of Gandhi's speeches

On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi was issued notice by the poll panel for his speeches in which he accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of causing communal flare-ups and noted that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was contacting the Muzaffarnagar riot victims.

The commission, in its notice, said Gandhi's election speeches in Rajasthan's Churu Oct 23 and Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Oct 24 were prima facie "violative" of the model code of conduct and asked him to reply by Monday why action should not be taken against him. The notice was issued on the BJP's complaints to the commission.

In a release, EC said it viewed CDs of Gandhi's speeches and had detailed deliberations on the issue.

IANS