‘What is the message’: Ahmed Patel’s jibe at EC after observer suspended
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Thursday waded into the row, asking the commission to explain how it was okay to search the Congress’s SPG protectees but not those from the BJP.
The Congress has targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Election Commission suspended a senior poll observer for checking his chopper in Odisha this week.
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Thursday waded into the row, asking the commission to explain how it was okay to search the Congress’s SPG protectees but not those from the BJP.
Ex-Congress president Sonia Gandhi, son Rahul who succeeded her as party chief and Priyanka Gandhi are guarded by the Special Protection Group, or SPG.
Ahmed Patel, who was a political adviser to Sonia Gandhi when she led the party, said there had been instances when election commission was allowed to check convoys of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
“Why suspend an officer for checking PM’s chopper? What message is being sent? Law is special for some,” Patel tweeted.
“The question is simple. If SPG protectees of the Congress party can be subjected to inspection why is the same not applicable to the BJP?” he asked.
The swipe was aimed at the Election Commission that had suspended a Karnataka IAS officer appointed as a general observer for the high-stakes battle in Odisha.
Mohammed Mohsin was suspended because he had checked PM’s chopper in Sambalpur, where the PM addressed an election rally.
The ECI order said Mohsin had not acted in line with the commission’s instructions of 10 April 2014 and 22 March 2019 concerning those guarded by the Special Protection Group (SPG). An EC official said SPG protectees were exempt from being frisked at airports.
Earlier in the day, the Congress had wondered what the prime minister was carrying in the chopper that “he doesn’t want India to see”.
The Aam Aadmi Party also took a jibe at Modi in a tweet.
“Suspension of the officer who checked PM’s helicopter. The chowkidar lives in his own protected shell! Is the Chowkidar trying to hide something,” it asked.
Amid the criticism, the Election Commission put out last month’s circular to underline that the observer had acted in violation. In this, the commission had said “all passengers (except those who are exempted under the rules)... will pass through the pre-embarkation security checks of operational airports”.
It is not clear why this exemption did not apply to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
