After Mamata, EC Notice to Suvendu Adhikari for ‘Communal’ Speech

Calling Mamata a ‘Begum’, Suvendu allegedly said her win would turn the state into a ‘mini-Pakistan.’

Following a complaint from Communist Part of India member Kavita Krishnan, the Election Commission of India has sent a letter to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari over a alleged “hate speech” delivered by the candidate from Nandigram during a political rally addressed by him on 29 March in Nandigram, reports Hindustan Times.

In a notice issued on Thursday, 8 April, the commission has flagged the usage of words like ‘begum’ and ‘Mini-Pakistan’, by employing which Adhikari had tried to suggest that voting for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee – his arch-rival in the Nandigram seat – would turn the state into a ‘mini-Pakistan.’

Based on an authenticated transcript of Adhikari’s speech, the EC has said that the TMC-turned-BJP leader had violated two clauses by criticising the private lives of political opponents and by appealing to “caste & communal feelings.”