The Election Commission on Wednesday barred Bharat Rashtra Samiti president K. Chandrashekar Rao from campaigning for 48 hours for his “objectionable” remarks against the Congress party. The ban comes into force at 8 pm on Wednesday.
The poll panel strongly condemned the statements made by the former Telangana chief minister at a press conference in Sircilla on April 5. The EC found them violative of the provisions of the model code of conduct and its advisories.
The commission, in its order, also noted that Rao used invectives against the ruling party.
The BRS chief will not be able to hold public meetings, rallies and interviews for a period of 48 hours. He is the second politician, after Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, to be banned from campaigning in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
The commission had earlier sent a show cause notice to Rao after the Congress party approached it on April 6 against his remarks. In his reply, the former CM claimed that his words were "twisted" and that the local poll officials could not follow the local Telugu dialect.
He also accused the Congress of picking some sentences from his press conference out of context.
The commission, however, found his remarks violative of MCC and used its constitutional powers to ban him from campaigning. The poll body also reminded Rao that he had violated the poll code in the past elections, too.
