BJP leader Abhijit Gangopadhyay can't campaign for 24 hours, says EC

Election Commission of India on Tuesday censured former Calcutta High Court judge and BJP's Tamluk candidate Abhijit Gangopadhyay for his controversial remarks on West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and debarred him from campaigning for 24 hours.

"The commission...finds Shri Abhijit Gangopadhyay's statement a direct affront on the 'erosion of status of women in India'; such a statement is outrightly condemnable when used in respect of any woman, not to speak of a senior political leader and holder of a constitutional position, who he has targeted...," ECI said in the letter.

ECI had sent a show cause notice to Gangopadhyay following the complaint filed by Trinamool on May 16. ECI had directed Gangopadhyay to respond to the notice by 5 pm on May 20.


"The Commission has carefully gone through the contents and averments made in the aforesaid reply of Abhijit Gangopadhyay and has again gone through the statement made and is convinced that he has made a low-level personal attack and thus violated the provisions of the model code of conduct..," the commission said in its letter.

"Women have commanded the highest respect in Indian society, past and present... The Indian constitution and all institutions of the country have constantly pursued the ideas and ideals of ensuring the rights and dignity of women on all fronts and further empowering them..," the letter added.

A copy of the letter has been marked to BJP national president JP Nadda. "Most regrettably however, Abhijit Gangopadhyay has committed the same type of violation to a worse degree. This is deemed as a grave failure (that is) to enforce one of the most basic conduct in an election campaign, even after clear directions from the commission. The commission advises you to issue an advisory from your party's side to all candidates and campaigners of your party to make sure that this lapse does not recur during the campaign period," ECI has stated.