BJP candidate gets EC notice for using Abhinandan’s posters during Modi rally

The district election officer of Barmer issued a show-cause notice to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kailash Choudhary for using posters of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public meeting in Barmer on Sunday.

The election department has sought his reply in two days over this alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

On the posters with the photo of Abhinandan, a message read: “We are proud of Abhinandan”, and “Hearty Congratulation to Abhinandan”.

In the notice issued to Choudhary on April 21, returning officer for Barmer parliamentary constituency Himanshu Gupta mentioned that assistant returning officer informed him that the BJP candidate used the photo of the fighter pilot along with his photo on the hoardings installed on the routes towards the PM meeting venue to impress the public coming to attend the PM meeting. Official said it comes under the violation of MCC.

He said according to the advisory issued by election commission to the political parties and candidates, it is clearly directed that “Armed Forces of the nation are the guardian of its frontiers, security and political system. They are apolitical and neutral stakeholders in modern democracy. It is, therefore, necessary that political parties and leaders exercise great caution while making any reference to the Armed Forces in their political campaigns”.

The election officer asked Choudhary to submit his written reply by Tuesday, saying that “considering this episode as violation of election code, why action should not be taken against him?” He also warned that in situation of not compliance of this notice; an action would be taken considering his consent to above charges.

Choudhary did not take calls for a response on the notice.