Voicing displeasure, EC lets off Lalu, Rabri, Jaswant & Uddhav

NEW DELHI: After slapping notices for their rhetoric and alleged offering of cash, the Election Commission on Monday let off RJD supremo Lalu Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackery after voicing its "displeasure".

The Commission did not find the replies of Prasad and his wife "satisfactory" and expressed its "strong displeasure" to them, Deputy Election Commissioner R Balakrishnan told reporters.

Prasad faced the notice for his reported statement at an election rally that if he had been the Home Minister he would have crushed BJP candidate Varun Gandhi under a 'roller without caring for consequences' for his anti-Muslim speeches.

Prasad has since clarified that what he meant was crushing the BJP Lok Sabha candidate under the "roller of law" to suggest he would have been bulldozed legally.

Rabri Devi, who is also the leader of the Opposition in Bihar Assembly, got the notice for allegedly making insulting personal remarks against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. FIRs have been already filed against both Prasad and Rabri.

Asked why the Commission only expressed its displeasure with regard to Prasad as against its strong action on Varun Gandhi, he said that the EC told Prasad that as a senior leader he should not have used such language.

"You have to see the gravity of statement," he said adding while Prasad's statement was against an individual, Gandhi's statement threatened the "entire community".