New Delhi: A BJP MLA used two pictures of IAF Pilot Abhinandan Varthaman on his Facebook post as part of party’s political campaign. This is the first instance where the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has been violated after it was kicked in by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday.
The board of Election Commission of India monitoring the polls asked all recognised political parties to stop making references to the armed forces in their political campaigns.
The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force on Sunday after the Election Commission (EC) announced Lok Sabha polls schedule.
It was March 1 when the two posters on Facebook were shared by the Delhi MLA.
Both photographs in question carry portraits of Wing Commander Varthaman, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah and Sharma, who is the Vishwas Nagar MLA in Delhi.
The incident has been reported to be the first action against violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) on social media, as the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday asked Facebook to remove two political posters with Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s photograph, shared by BJP leader and Delhi MLA Om Prakash Sharma.
One of the posters states, “Modi ji dwara itne kam samay main bahadur Abhinandan ko wapas lana Bharat ki bahut badi kootnitik vijay hai” meaning “Abhinandan return, through Modi ji, is a big diplomatic win for India.”
The other states, “Jhuk gaya hai Pakistan, laut aaya hai desh ka veer Jawan” meaning “Pakistan capitulates, the country’s braveheart is back”.
“It is pertinent to mention here that the Armed Forces of a nation are the guardian of its frontiers, security and the political system. They are apolitical and neutral stakeholders in a modern democracy. It is, therefore, necessary that the political parties and leaders exercise great caution while making any reference to the Armed Forces in their political campaign,” stated the EC directive.
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