EC raps Rahul Gandhi for ‘panauti, pickpocket’ jibes against PM Modi, issues advisory

livemint.com:

Election Commission has asked former Congress president Rahul Gandhi to be more careful in his public utterances in the wake of his ‘panauti’ (bad omen) and ‘pickpocket’ jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, news agency PTI reported on Wednesday citing sources. The report said the election commission also asked the senior Congress leader to follow its recent advisory for star campaigners and political leaders in the right earnest during the election campaign.

It is important to note that the Election Commission—in its advisory dated March 1, 2024—had warned political parties, candidates and star campaigners that any violation of the Model Code of Conduct will attract stern action, rather than just 'moral censure.' The EC also urged the political parties to raise the level of election campaigning to "issue-based" debate. Earlier, the Delhi High Court had asked the election commission to take appropriate action against the Wayanad MP for his speech in November last year in which he used the expression 'pickpocket' while attacking BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On November 24 last year, the EC had issued a notice to Gandhi on a complaint by the saffron party over the Congress leader's jibe at Prime Minister Modi. Addressing a rally in Rajasthan, the Congress leader had blamed PM Modi for Team India's World Cup final loss to Australia at Ahmedabad.

The Hindustan Times reported that the Congress leader while addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Barmer said, “The pickpocket never comes alone, there are three people. One comes from the front, one from the back and one from the distance...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's job is to divert your attention. He comes on TV from the front and distracts the public by