BJP meets EC, says Bengal plans to scuttle PM rallies

New Delhi, May 7 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) alleging that the West Bengal government is planning to scuttle the public rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A BJP team led by Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Bhupender Yadav and Satya Pal Singh submitted the complaint to the EC here.

Talking to the media, Yadav said the state government is pressurising the district administration to scuttle the rallies of Prime Minister in Purulia and Bankura on Thursday.

Yadav said the EC has taken note of the complaint and assured that it would look into the matter seriously.

The BJP leader said that they have also lodged a complaint regarding violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) by Congress President Rahul Gandhi between March 13 and April 27.

Accusing the EC of not taking up the complaints lodged by the BJP, Yadav said out of 11 complaints, notice has been issued in only one, and added that Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly violated the MCC.

On the Opposition meeting the Election Commission over electronic voting machine (EVM) Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the opposition approaching the EC with EVM issue only shows that the opposition has already accepted defeat, even before the results.

Naqvi said that the opposition going to the Supreme Court and demanding return of paper ballet was like going back from tube light to the era of lanterns.

An opposition team led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu also met the EC on the EVM-VVPAT issue.