EC notice to BJP candidate in WB for ‘communal overtones’ in speech

New Delhi, April 8: The Election Commission on Thursday issued a notice to Suvendu Adhikari, the BJP candidate from Nandigram in West Bengal, for alleged communal overtones in his speech made last month. He has been asked to respond to the notice within 24 hours.
The notice said the poll panel received a complaint from Kavita Krishnan of CPI-ML Central Committee in which it was alleged that on March 29 Adhikari delivered a “hate speech” in Nandigram while addressing a public meeting. “Election is knocking at the door. You are not giving votes to Begum. If you vote for Begum there will be mini Pakistan. (Barely audible)…A Daud Ibrahim has come up in your locality….We will note down everything. What is the government doing? What is the use of it? “Which puja celebration is coming next? Ramnabami. With which flower did Ramachandra worship Maa Durga? All of you should, therefore, vote for lotus. You should press the button against number 1… In the first phase of the election votes have been cast against the politics of appeasement,” the notice quoted portion of his speech.
Adhikari asked if people understood the meaning of appeasement. “As the election is going on we have to be cautious about our language. Do you understand what does appeasement mean? Do you understand the meaning of appeasement? Yes, you understand. ” (PTI)