Saket Gokhale asks EC to pre-approve PM’s Modi’s speech in Bangladesh

Congress supporter Saket Gokhale, who likes to name himself a ‘Transparency activist and investigator’, has filed a plea with Election Commission concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s go to to Orakandi, Bangladesh which is scheduled for twenty seventh March which coincides with the polling for the primary part of the elections in West Bengal. Gokhale has sought instructions from the EC to delay the telecast of PM’s speech in India in order that it ‘does not influence the voters in Bengal’, and likewise demanded that the EC ought to first learn the PM’s speech and approve it earlier than it’s delivered in Bangladesh.
Saket Gokhale revealed the identical via a tweet and claimed that Orakandi “is a shrine for Matua community that influences about 29 seats in Bengal.”
Filed a illustration affidavit with Election Commission concerning PM Modi’s go to to Orakandi in Bangladesh which is a shrine for Matua group that influences about 29 seats in Bengal.Modi is making this go to on 27 March i.e. 1st day of Phase 1 polling in Bengal.(1/2) pic.twitter.com/4Wc4B7WzIy— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) March 21, 2021
Saket Gokhale has additionally requested the Election Commission of India to vet a complicated copy of PM Modi’s speech to be delivered at Orakandi, permit the printed of his program solely after closing of polling time i.e., 6 pm and restrain the BJP from utilizing this occasion for the election marketing campaign.
I’ve demanded that the ECI:1. Vet an advance copy of Modi’s speech to be delivered at Orakandi2. Require all TV media to broadcast Modi’s program at Orakandi solely after shut of polling i.e. 6pm3. Restrain BJP from utilizing this state go to for election campaigning.(2/2)— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) March 21, 2021
Alleging an try and affect the voters of Matua group which includes of three crore individuals, Saket Gokhale furthers his declare by stating, “influencing the emotions or targeting a particular sect, caste, or religion in the process of electoral campaigning is also prohibited under the Model Code of Conduct.”
That’s not the place the allegations cease. Saket additional assumes that the Office of Prime Minister in its official duties is attempting to affect the minds of voters on the day of polling.
Here’s a duplicate of the affidavit shared by Saket Gokhale.
It could also be famous that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is about to go to Bangladesh on a two-day go to on the invitation of Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina to hitch the fiftieth celebration of Bangladesh’s independence.
The Matua group:
The Matua’s are initially from East Bengal and plenty of of them entered West Bengal after the partition and formation of Bangladesh. The Matua Mahasangha, a spiritual reforms motion was shaped by Harichand Thakur within the mid-1800s. The group has had a robust presence in politics since then. Initially supporting the Congress, the group provided its assist to the Left Front from 1977. However, noticing a change in citizenship and land rights, Boro Ma ( matriarch of the Matua Mahasangha) made Mamata Banerjee the chief patron of Matua Mahasabha in 2009 after she approached them. In 2018, Mamata Banerjee had visited Boro Ma and the federal government later introduced a welfare board for Matuas.
Boro Ma’s son Kapil Krishna Thakur gained the Bangaon Lok Sabha on a Trinamool ticket in 2014. Soon after his dying, Kapil’s spouse Mamata Thakur gained the identical seat whereas Boro Ma’s one other son Manjul Krishna Thakur, a TMC minister later joined the BJP adopted by his son Subrata.