Congress slams EC for notice to Kharge, seeks more time

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like The Congress on Thursday told the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) that party chief Mallikarjun Kharge did not violate the model code of conduct and had already clarified his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the poll panel had not acted against the Bharatiya Janata Party. Congress slams EC for notice to Kharge, seeks more timeOn Wednesday, ECI had issued a show cause notice to Kharge, saying that he prima facie violated the model code of conduct when he called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “terrorist” during a press conference in Chennai. Kharge had made the comment during a press conference on the final day of campaigning for the Tamil Nadu elections on Tuesday. He later defended himself, saying he meant the PM was “terrorising” the democratic fabric of the country. Responding to the show-cause notice hours before the commission’s 24-hour deadline, AICC general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh demanded more time to respond to the notice. In a letter to chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Ramesh said, “We are in receipt of two notices with the same number, F. No. 437/TNLA/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 If one of the notices was withdrawn, there is no mention of it in either of the notices, he said. “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 Shri Derek O’Brien of the All India Trinamool Congress dated 21.04.2026. The other notice, which is also uploaded on your website, has strangely dropped his name as the complainant,” Ramesh said. “This indicates the casual and routine manner in which the EC is issuing show cause notices merely on the basis of the ruling party’s complainants’ versions and without any application of mind and by giving a time of mere 24 hours to file responses,” he added. Expressing surprise at the short amount of time given to Kharge to reply to the charges levelled against him in the notice, Ramesh 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, Ramesh said. “We seek time to file a detailed response within one week and also for a senior delegation of Congress leaders to present the same,” he said. The Congress cited two alleged BJP violations it said ECI had ignored. The first instance was Modi’s national address after the failure of the 131st Constitutional Amendment, which Ramesh said amounted to a political attack on the Congress by name during an active election period. Second, a post by Union home minister Amit Shah on BJP’s X handle promising ₹3,000 monthly for women, ₹3,000 for unemployed youth, ₹21,000 for pregnant women and free government bus travel. The Congress argued this was a case of quid pro quo and bribery under Section 123 of the Representation of People Act, 1951. On Tuesday, Kharge made the remark while criticising the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. “How do these AIADMK people, who themselves put the photo of [former chief minister CN] Annadurai... how can they join with Modi? He is a terrorist...He doesn’t believe in equality. His party won’t believe in equality and justice. And these people are joining them, which means that they are weakening democracy, weakening the philosophy of Annadurai, Kamarajar, [EV Ramaswamy]Periyar, Kalaignar [late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi] and Baba Saheb Ambedkar,” Kharge said. However, when asked later about his remark, Kharge said he meant the PM was “terrorising” the democratic fabric of the country. “He is terrorising people and political parties. I never said he is a terrorist in the literal sense…he is misusing his power and government machinery and abusing, maligning opposition parties,” he added. On Wednesday, a high-level BJP delegation comprising parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal met ECI, demanding strict action and a public apology from Kharge. Rijiju described the remark as “an issue for the entire nation,” saying no political party had ever reached this level of disrespect, and that the delegation went to ECI “with grief and anger.” Sitharaman called the Congress “completely frustrated,” saying the party was driven by “deep hate towards the Prime Minister” on the eve of polling in Tamil Nadu and the first phase in West Bengal.