New Delhi: Election Commission of India issued show-cause notices to BJP MLA Basanagouda R Patil Yatnal and Congress MLA Priyank Kharge for their personal attacks and language during campaigning in Karnataka. ECI cited that Basanagouda made a personal remark against a rival party leader, which was, former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, while Kharge used ‘abusive language’ against the Prime Minister.
Election Commission of India issues show cause notices to BJP MLA & star campaigner Basanagouda R Patil (Yatnal) for making a personal attack remark against a rival party leader along with issuing same to Congress MLA Priyank Kharge after receiving complaint that he used abusive…
— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2023
The campaigning for Karnataka elections has witnessed heated personal remarks from both Congress and BJP. Basanagouda, in a public meeting, called Sonia Gandhi a ‘vishkanya’ (venomous woman) while Priyank Kharge called PM Narendra Modi a ‘Nalayak’ (useless) son.
BJP leader and MLA from #Vijayapura Basangouda Patil Yatnal courted a controversy by asking if the Congress leader @congress_ was a “vishkanya” (poison maiden) and also slammed her stating that she is agent of Pakistan and China @NewIndianXpress @XpressBengaluru @KannadaPrabha pic.twitter.com/vacUSPyNPO
— Amit Upadhye (@Amitsen_TNIE) April 28, 2023
Addressing the public, Kharge replied to PM Modi’s statement where he called himself a ‘son from the Banjara community sitting in Delhi’ in Kalaburgi. The Congress MLA asked that with such a useless son (nalayak beta) how will the house be run?
कलबुर्गी :- कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष मल्लिकार्जुन खड़गे के बेटे और कांग्रेस विधायक प्रियांक खड़गे ने पीएम मोदी की तुलना नालायक बेटे से की, कुछ दिन पहले मल्लिकार्जुन खड़गे ने पीएम मोदी को कहा था जहरीला सांप pic.twitter.com/z0z6cRnvhs
— Newsroompost (@NewsroomPostCom) May 1, 2023
Both parties have been targeting each other for making such statements and PM Modi, in a speech, mentioned that Congress has 91 times used abusive language against him.
Congress approached the Election Commission after Basanagouda’s remark and a couple of days back, BJP also filed a complaint against Priyank.
Earlier, Priyank’s father and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge made the ‘poisonous snake’ remark, after which, he issued a clarification that it was not targeted towards PM Modi but was for the ideology of RSS and BJP. Mallikarjun Kharge also addressed the media on Priyank’s remark and said that it was not targeted at PM Modi, the statement was for the MP who abused him.
Karnataka will undergo voting for the Assembly Polls on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13.