NEW DELHI: In a response to the Election Commission’s notice for violating the Model Code of Conduct for the use of derogatory remarks against PM Modi, Congress on Thursday said that it smacks of ulterior motives and an attempt is being made to deliberately overlook the clear and unequivocal explanation about the context in which the words were uttered so as to find some way to take action against the Congress president.
In a summary notice addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner and his companion ECs, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that Kharge’s comments are not violative of MCC or any other laws. “This clarification was already available in the public domain and by relying only on a quote taken out of context by the complainant and not looking at the entire comment, there does not seem to be any application of mind by the officials before hastily issuing this notice,” he wrote..
In the reply, he also reproduced the clarification of Kharge which says, “I never said he is a terrorist... What I mean, I want to clarify, is that Modi always threatens. The institutions like ED, I-T and CBI are in his hands. He wants to take delimitation also into his hands. Therefore I said, in that context, he is terrorising people and political parties. I never said he is a terrorist”.
Expressing surprise at the short amount of time given to the Congress President to reply to the charges levelled against him in the notice in 24 hours, Ramesh sought time to file a detailed response within one week and also for a senior delegation of Congress leaders to present the same.
“In the meantime, we file the following summary reply,” he said.
“You would have been aware this is certainly not sufficient time given that the Congress President is in the middle of multiple campaigns. It almost seems the CEC is executing the Notice as a formality rather than as an act in discharge of natural justice,” said the letter.
Ramesh further said that Kharge received two notices with the same number, F. No. 437/TN-LA/2026/SS-I (MCC Complaint) both dated 22.04.2026 and signed by two different officials of the Commission. “If one of the notices was withdrawn, there is no mention of it in either of the notices. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that one of the notices even mentions that the so-called violation of the model code of conduct was based on a complaint by Derek O'Brien of the TMC dated 21.04.2026. The other notice which is also uploaded on your website has strangely dropped his name as the complainant,” he said.
It shows the casual and routine manner in which the Commission is issuing show cause notices merely on the basis of ruling party's complainants' versions and without any application of mind and by giving a time of mere 24 hours to file responses, said the letter.
Ramesh further drew attention to recent MCC violations committed by PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
“First, the PM’s address to the nation after the failure of this government to pass the 131st Constitutional Amendment. Aside from the PM's unsuccessful attempt to camouflage that as a defeat for Women's Reservation, it was more importantly, a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. This is amply evident from his numerous attacks on the Indian National Congress by name including where he accused the Congress of foeticide,” he said
He also cited the social media posts of Amit Shah making promises during the recent election campaign. “This is not a policy pronouncement. It is a clear promise of exchange and thus hit by the language of Section 123 of the Representation of People Act, 1951. These are clear violations of election law which should have attracted the suo moto attention of the ECI,” he said.