EC to look into Vadtal Swaminarayan Temple priest asking sect to vote for BJP

Gandhinagar, Nov 29 (IANS) The Election Commission, after its notice to Gandhinagar Archbishop Thomas Macwan, asking him to explain the reasons for writing a letter to Bishops of the country to pray for such people to be elected in Gujarat who would remain faithful to the Constitution, has said that it will look into remarks by the Vadtal Swaminarayan Temple priest who has openly urged the sect to vote for the BJP.

Asked if the remarks of the Vadtal Swaminarayan Temple priest during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the temple were not a violation of the model code of conduct, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Gujarat, B.B. Swain said, "We have had the district electoral officer look into that matter and it has been videographed too. We shall be looking into that, as well as the matter with the Gandhinagar Archbishop's letter."

The ECI had, through the Gandhinagar district collector, issued a notice to the Archbishop of Gandhinagar, asking him to explain the intention and aim in writing a letter in which he had asked to organize prayer services in the country so that Gujarat may have such people elected in state assembly who would remain faithful to the Indian Constitution and respect every human being without any discrimination.

In his letter to the Bishops, Macwan had written, "The results of the Gujarat elections are significant and will influence the future course of our country. The secular and democratic fabric of our country is at stake. Human rights are violated and the constitutional rights are trampled. There is a growing sense of insecurity among the minorities, Other Backward Caste (OBC), Scheduled Caste (SC), poor et al. And nationalist forces are on the verge of taking over the country."

Collector, Gandhinagar, Satish Patel told IANS on Wednesday: "The Archbishop has responded to our notice and explained that he didn't have any malafide intentions while writing that letter and all he wished was for the good of the country. We are contemplating sending him a warning of sorts so that he is careful in writing such letters."

On November 5, while Modi was visiting the Vadtal Swaminarayan Temple, the priest openly urged the sect and followers to vote for the BJP, which been recorded by the ECI.

Though the ECI took cognisance of the incident, surprisingly it failed to issue a show cause notice or any other communication to the temple regarding the remark, as it had done instantly in the case of the Gandhinagar Archbishop.