EC warns against using religion for politics

EC warns against using religion for politics

Thursday, January 20, 2005 (New Delhi):

The Election Commission has taken note of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad's attack on the BJP using the Banerjee Committee report on the Godhra train fire.

While the EC has already warned that action will be taken against leaders using religion in politics, it is expected to discuss the issue today at its full meeting.

"We have to verify the authenticity of the statement. But the commision will take action if religion is used for political exploitation," Chief Election Commissioner T S Krinshnamurthy said.

Stating that the Commission is yet to go through the interim report of Banerjee panel, the CEC said it would be unfortunate if such things were used for political purposes.

Highlighting the report

The JD(U) and the BJP have also petitioned the Commission to freeze the RJD symbol after Lalu brandished copies of the Banerjee report at an election rally.

The Opposition claimed that it was a blatant violation of the model code of conduct.

However, the Congress has come to Lalu's defence over the issue.

"The report is not a secret document and Lalu is using it to inform the people," said Congress spokesperson Motilal Vora.

Significantly, in the last Lok Sabha elections also, there were a number of complaints on both the misuse of religion and personal attacks.

But while the Election Commission had warned political parties at that point, it had not really intervened unlike this time.

from ndtv.com