ID :
51980
Tue, 03/24/2009 - 15:18
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/51980
The shortlink copeid
BJP rejects EC advice on Varun, says he will contest polls
New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) A defiant Bharatiya Janata
Party Monday rejected the Election Commission's advice to it
not to nominate Varun Gandhi as candidate in the Lok Sabha
elections and threw its full weight behind his candidature in
Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh.
The young member of the Gandhi family also put up a
defiant posture accusing the Election Commission (EC) of
acting in "haste" and going beyond its "jurisdiction",
"pressurised by political considerations".
The morning after the EC's unprecedented action of
recommending to BJP that Varun not be nominated as its
candidate in the elections in view of his hate speeches, top
leaders of the party met at the residence of senior leader L K
Advani and decided to take on the Commission.
"He (Varun) is our candidate. We have turned down the
advice (of the EC) because it does not have the right to give
such an advice," party spokesman Balbir Punj told reporters
after meeting Varun at his residence.
In a no-holds-barred attack on the EC, Punj said the EC
does not have the technical knowhow to verify the authenticity
of the CD containing the speeches of Varun, which he said
should have been done by a neutral expert.
While BJP attacked the EC's decision, the advice was
hailed by its ally Janata Dal (United) and rivals Congress and
Samajwadi Party. Varun also got a piece of advice from his
cousin Priyanka who asked him to read the 'Gita' and
understand it properly.
Punj said while Varun has been targeted by the EC, some
others who have been convicted of murders and under TADA
(Terrorism and Destructive Activities (Prevention) Act) or are
facing serious charges have been allowed to contest and even
allowed to become ministers.
In this context, the BJP spokesman referred to Jagdish
Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, who are accused in 1984 anti-Sikh
riots cases and M K Subba, whose nationality is in question.
"The EC has not said a word about how ministers who have
been convicted of murders and facing worst type of corruption
charges contest elections," he said.
BJP leader Arun Jaitley said EC's advice does not come
under the ambit of law. "But today, before even a chargesheet
has been filed, leave alone being convicted, to disqualify a
person by suggesting and pressurising the party is not within
the powers of the EC," he said.
Jaitley said he would have welcomed EC's advice if it had
given a similar advice to Samajwadi Party not to nominate
persons accused under TADA and the UPA not to field those
convicted of murder.
While he said he was not questioning the Commission's
intention but the jurisdiction, Punj suggested that the EC
advice had something to do with the "proximity" of the Chief
Election Commissioner-designate Navin Chawla to Congress and
the strained relations between Sonia Gandhi and Varun's mother
Maneka Gandhi.
BJP chief Rajnath Singh said Varun will remain the
party's candidate and leaders would campaign for him.
With his party standing by him, Varun, who will be
making his electoral debut, said the EC action was in "utter
disregard of the principles of natural justice" as it had
passed the censure "without any attempt to ascertain the
truth".
"The EC's eagerness to exercise its 'recommendatory
jurisdiction' begins and ends with my case alone. This itself,
coupled with the haste with which the EC has acted, leaves one
to believe that the action has been pressurised by political
considerations," he said.
Varun said by making "adverse remarks and
recommendations to the BJP and all other parties, the EC has
acted beyond its jurisdiction and has surpassed its powers
including under Article 324 of the Constitution".
Priyanka Gandhi, who was campaigning in her mother's
constituency Rae Bareli, ticked off Varun, asking him to read
the Gita and try to understand it properly.
"Well, it may be very sad to see him saying those
comments on television and what can I say? I would advice him
to read the Gita properly and to try to understand it
properly," said Priyanka, who had earlier wished Varun well in
politics.
She was referring to Varun's controversial speech that
had surfaced last week in which he had said that he would
swear by the Gita to chop off anyone's hands that would be
raised against Hindus. PTI
Party Monday rejected the Election Commission's advice to it
not to nominate Varun Gandhi as candidate in the Lok Sabha
elections and threw its full weight behind his candidature in
Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh.
The young member of the Gandhi family also put up a
defiant posture accusing the Election Commission (EC) of
acting in "haste" and going beyond its "jurisdiction",
"pressurised by political considerations".
The morning after the EC's unprecedented action of
recommending to BJP that Varun not be nominated as its
candidate in the elections in view of his hate speeches, top
leaders of the party met at the residence of senior leader L K
Advani and decided to take on the Commission.
"He (Varun) is our candidate. We have turned down the
advice (of the EC) because it does not have the right to give
such an advice," party spokesman Balbir Punj told reporters
after meeting Varun at his residence.
In a no-holds-barred attack on the EC, Punj said the EC
does not have the technical knowhow to verify the authenticity
of the CD containing the speeches of Varun, which he said
should have been done by a neutral expert.
While BJP attacked the EC's decision, the advice was
hailed by its ally Janata Dal (United) and rivals Congress and
Samajwadi Party. Varun also got a piece of advice from his
cousin Priyanka who asked him to read the 'Gita' and
understand it properly.
Punj said while Varun has been targeted by the EC, some
others who have been convicted of murders and under TADA
(Terrorism and Destructive Activities (Prevention) Act) or are
facing serious charges have been allowed to contest and even
allowed to become ministers.
In this context, the BJP spokesman referred to Jagdish
Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, who are accused in 1984 anti-Sikh
riots cases and M K Subba, whose nationality is in question.
"The EC has not said a word about how ministers who have
been convicted of murders and facing worst type of corruption
charges contest elections," he said.
BJP leader Arun Jaitley said EC's advice does not come
under the ambit of law. "But today, before even a chargesheet
has been filed, leave alone being convicted, to disqualify a
person by suggesting and pressurising the party is not within
the powers of the EC," he said.
Jaitley said he would have welcomed EC's advice if it had
given a similar advice to Samajwadi Party not to nominate
persons accused under TADA and the UPA not to field those
convicted of murder.
While he said he was not questioning the Commission's
intention but the jurisdiction, Punj suggested that the EC
advice had something to do with the "proximity" of the Chief
Election Commissioner-designate Navin Chawla to Congress and
the strained relations between Sonia Gandhi and Varun's mother
Maneka Gandhi.
BJP chief Rajnath Singh said Varun will remain the
party's candidate and leaders would campaign for him.
With his party standing by him, Varun, who will be
making his electoral debut, said the EC action was in "utter
disregard of the principles of natural justice" as it had
passed the censure "without any attempt to ascertain the
truth".
"The EC's eagerness to exercise its 'recommendatory
jurisdiction' begins and ends with my case alone. This itself,
coupled with the haste with which the EC has acted, leaves one
to believe that the action has been pressurised by political
considerations," he said.
Varun said by making "adverse remarks and
recommendations to the BJP and all other parties, the EC has
acted beyond its jurisdiction and has surpassed its powers
including under Article 324 of the Constitution".
Priyanka Gandhi, who was campaigning in her mother's
constituency Rae Bareli, ticked off Varun, asking him to read
the Gita and try to understand it properly.
"Well, it may be very sad to see him saying those
comments on television and what can I say? I would advice him
to read the Gita properly and to try to understand it
properly," said Priyanka, who had earlier wished Varun well in
politics.
She was referring to Varun's controversial speech that
had surfaced last week in which he had said that he would
swear by the Gita to chop off anyone's hands that would be
raised against Hindus. PTI
