HYDERABAD : The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday issued orders barring BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections for 48 hours over the violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) during a press conference in Sircilla on April 5.
ECI principal secretary Malay Mallick, in the order, said, “The Commission under Article 324 of the Constitution of India, bars K Chandrasekhar Rao from holding any public meetings, public processions, public rallies, shows and interviews, public utterances in media (electronic, print, social media, etc.) in connection with the ongoing elections for 48 hours from 8 pm on May 1 (Wednesday).”
After the ECI issued orders, KCR cancelled his proposed roadshow in Jammikunta on Thursday and left for his farmhouse in Erravalli.
Reacting to the poll body’s decision, the former chief minister, at a roadshow in Mahabubabad, stated that the ECI did not send any notices to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who used derogatory language like “pegulu medalo vesukuntaa” (will wear a garland out of intestines). “If the ECI barred me from the election campaign for 48 hours, then BRS activists will work extra hard for 96 hours,” he declared.
The ECI took cognisance of the complaint lodged by senior Congress leader G Ranjan, who had said that KCR made derogatory comments against the Congress during a press conference in the Rajanna-Sircilla district on April 5. He claimed that the BRS supremo had referred to Congress leaders as ‘sons of dogs, ‘lathkhors’ and ‘chavata daddammalu’, among other things.
Based on this, the poll body issued a notice seeking clarification from KCR. In his reply, the former chief minister said, “The officers in charge of elections in Telangana and Sircilla are not Telugu people. They hardly understand the local dialect of Telugu. The complaint was made by the Congress by picking some sentences from the press conference. The English translation of the sentences is not correct and twisted out of context.”
EC flags prior violations in KCR order
The ECI further noted that KCR had been issued an order in May 2019 for violating the MCC in Karimnagar. Another advisory was issued in November 2023 asking him to follow the MCC in letter and spirit when the BRS supremo had made certain comments in Banswada.
“The ECI found that KCR has not only violated the provisions of MCC in Sircilla, but also violated MCC provisions during past elections,” the latest order said.
Meanwhile, BRS working president KT Rama Rao took to X to say, “What is this anarchy? Zero action against [PM] Modi despite thousands of citizens’ complaints. No action against foul-mouthed ‘cheap’ minister of Telangana Revanth People of Telangana will give a befitting answer to your arrogance and institutional abuse.”