The Hindu : Front Page : Notice based on unverified media reports, says Modi

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Sunday, Dec 09, 2007
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Notice based on unverified media reports, says Modi

Neena Vyas

Election Commission to consider his response today

NEW DELHI: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has denied “in its entirety” the charge made by the Election Commission, in the December 6 notice, that in a speech at Mangrol on December 4 he made an “open exhortation to violence and misused religion for political ends.”

The Election Commission will sit here on Sunday to consider his three-page response.

Commission sources also said the EC was awaiting a report from Gujarat’s Chief Electoral Officer on the speeches made by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in which she referred to those ruling the State as “liars, dishonest and merchants of fear and death.” The Bharatiya Janata Party already complained to the Commission on this and demanded action.

Mr. Modi’s reply was received here on Saturday evening — he had been asked to respond to the Commission’s notice by 11 a.m. on Saturday but he sought some more time.

He said:

“I deny the charge in its entirety … [newspaper] comments [are] inspired by false imputation. … The E.C. notice is issued on the basis of unverified and false media reports.”

Mr. Modi asserted that phrases attributed to him in various newspaper reports — Sohrabuddin Sheikh “got what he deserved” or that it amounted to a “confessional statement” of complicity in the murder of Sohrabuddin (who was killed by the Gujarat police in a fake encounter in 2005) — were not his phrases. “I have since received the copy of CD [of his Mangrol election speech] on the evening of 7th December 2007 at 5.45 p.m. I find none of the above statements are contained in my speech as recorded in the CD.”

He has said that since he is in the midst of an election campaign “I am sending this as a preliminary reply.”

Criticising the Commission, Mr. Modi said his speech was a “political response to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi referring to me as those who rule the Gujarat as a maut ke saudagar [merchants of death]”

He added: “Surely, it cannot be policy of the Election Commission first to ignore the violation of the Code of Conduct in her statement and then censor my political response to that statement.”

Finally, Mr. Modi said he spoke extensively on the problem of terrorism. “Am I to be prevented from giving my point that terrorism will not be allowed on the soil of Gujarat or that Congress is soft on the terrors and thereby helping maut ke saudagar? If Election Commission imposes any such regulation, it would offend our constitutional values and my right of free speech.”

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