Indian Express, Friday, December 07, 2007
Sent EC stinker, Modi blames Sonia and remembers the Constitution
The Election Commission today issued notice to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi over his campaign speech in which he justified the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in a fake encounter, a case which is being heard by the Supreme Court.
Asking him to respond to the notice by Saturday, the Election Commission, after going through a video recording of his speech, media reports and complaints, said it is “prima facie convinced that references to Sohrabuddin and linking his name to terrorism, in the speech, amounts to indulging in activity which may aggravate existing differences, creating mutual hatred and causing tension between different communities in violation of the Model Code.”
“There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes,” the EC said quoting the Model Code of Conduct.
At an election rally in south Gujarat, Modi had said: “I am thumping my chest and declaring that Sohrabuddin’s encounter took place on the dharti of Gujarat. If I have done something wrong, hang me. But these people, next they will offer a chadar at Sohrabuddin’s grave.”
Under fire for his remarks with opponents demanding his disqualification from the polls, Modi, in an apparent attempt to defuse the controversy, today told Times Now TV that “fake encounters are not acceptable”.
“I request the Supreme Court and all Constitutional authorities not to go by perceptions but to go by facts. I am a law-abiding citizen and I will ensure that India’s Constitution remains the supreme authority,” he said.
He said it was Congress president Sonia Gandhi who provoked him into making the remarks on Sohrabuddin’s killing. “I began talking about development, about agriculture and primary education. But when Sonia Gandhi, in her first rally in Gujarat, called me a merchant of death, I had to react because in a democracy it is my duty to take the truth to the people of the country,” he said.
“I have never justified fake encounters... I have faced a lot of allegations on the Sohrabuddin issue in the past six months. So far, I was quiet. But I have to give an explanation if Soniabehn calls me the merchant of death. There is no controversy over police encounters. The controversy is over fake encounters. I have always opposed and will continue to oppose fake encounters,” he said.
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