EC raps DMK leader A Raja, bars him from campaigning for 48 hrs

The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday removed Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader A Raja as star campaigner and barred him from campaigning for 48 hours for derogatory comments against Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami.

The commission issued the leader a notice reprimanding him for his comment and further warned him from making “intemperate, indecent, derogatory, obscene remarks and lower the dignity of women during the election campaign”.

Raja made a controversial remark on Palaniswami’s mother during an election rally on Saturday and was served a show-cause notice by the poll body on Tuesday. Seeking his reply, the EC said that it is of the view that the “contents of the speech made by you are not only derogatory, but also obscene and lower the dignity of motherhood of women, which seems to be a serious violation of the provisions of Model Code of Conduct”.

Raja responded by asking the commission to note of the full text of the speech. “In Tamil oratory, simile is a well-accepted norm. In my speech, evolution of MK Stalin and Edappadi K Palaniswami was compared through a simile as newborn babies for the easy understanding of the masses,” Raja’s response to the EC said, according to news agency ANI. “This was in response to the CM’s repeated allegations that MK Stalin has never worked hard to become a leader. Hence, if the full text is considered by the committee, I’m hopeful that it will wipe out the insult and consequent injury inflicted on me,” the former Union minister added.

In its notice issued on Thursday, the Commission said that it hadn’t found the explanation offered by the leader satisfactory.

Assembly polls will be held in Tamil Nadu on April 6 in a single phase for which campaigning would end on April 4 evening.