Election Commission likely to step in as name-calling turns ugly

NEW DELHI: As gloves come off in the Bihar poll battle, with Amit Shah referring to RJD President Lalu Prasad as "chara-chor" and the latter hitting back by calling the BJP chief "narbhakshi" (man-eater), the Election Commission is ready to play the tough referee.

Sources in the Commission told TOI on Thursday that the Commission has taken a grim view of the invectives being mouthed by politicians from either camp and may, after getting reports from the ground, reprimand them for use of intemperate language and "personal attacks".

"It is the Commission's duty to remind the political leaders and candidates to desist from personal attacks based on unverified allegations and distortions," a senior EC official said adding that such attacks amount to violation of the model code of conduct. "As soon as we get a report from the district election officer/chief electoral officer confirming the use of invectives, we may seek an explanation from both Shah and Lalu. In case their response is not found satisfactory, the EC may pull them up for violating the model code and ask them to take care with their choice of words during the Bihar campaign," the official told TOI.

Shah had, while addressing a rally in Begusarai on Wednesday, referred to Lalu Prasad's conviction in a fodder scam case, alleging that "Bihar, which had a glorious past, has today attained a bad name due to chara-chor Lalu Yadav". A stung Lalu on Thursday hit back at Shah, asking how a "narbhakshi" (man-eater) of Gujarat riots was now roaming around in Bihar".

The 'narbhakshi' comment was reminiscent of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's "Maut Ka Saudagar" (merchant of death) remark against then chief minister Narendra Modi during the 2007 Gujarat assembly poll. In the various elections since, use of inappropriate language and invectives has become somewhat of a trend. While Modi likened the Congress 'hand' symbol to a "khooni panja" (killer paw) during a Chhattisgarh rally in 2013, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh called Modi "Ravan" for his 3D campaign during the 2012 Gujarat polls (Ra-One was a 3-D movie starring Shahrukh Khan).

During the 2013 Delhi assembly poll, Aam Aadmi Party member and MTV anchor Rajeev Laxman had referred to then home minister Sushilkumar Shinde as "harami" at party candidate Shazia Ilmi's rally. However, he had apologised later.

Incidentally, though the EC chides politicians from time to time for using foul language against poll rivals, lack of any legal teeth for the model code of conduct seems to have emboldened politicians to catch public attention by weaving "catchy and shocking" invectives into their campaign speeches.