BELAGAVI: AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, said on Thursday that the Election Commission of India (ECI), which was once a neutral body, is now controlled by the PM.
“The election commissioner was in the past elected by a three-member group comprising the Chief Justice of India, the Leader of Opposition, and the PM. Unfortunately, such an important institution has fallen into the pocket of Narendra Modi today. It is like a pen in Modi’s pocket, and he’s using it as per wishes,” Surjewala told reporters here.
Surjewala said the Congress had appealed to the ECI to initiate action against the PM for his alleged hate speech targeting Muslims in an election rally in Rajasthan recently. “Elections should be fought on major issues like development, education, dams, road infrastructure, IITs, IIMs, irrigation, etc. But Modi follows the agenda of hate,” he said.
He said Modi was making such remarks to polarise society as he fears losing the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. “A leader who is losing will only abuse others and get angry and frustrated,’’ he added. Surjewala said the PM was worried about the guarantees of the Congress government in Karnataka. He asked whether involving people in the process of development that the Karnataka government was doing was “urban Naxalism or rural Naxalism,” as claimed by BJP leaders. “We are making people the owners of the government. We are servants of the people,’’ he said.
Condemning the murder of Neha Hiremath on the college campus in Hubballi, Surjewala said he met the girl’s family on Wednesday. “By appointing a Special Public Prosecutor, the government is keen on getting the trial completed within 90- 120 days. The government will ask through the Special Public Prosecutor for capital punishment for the killer,’’ he said.