BJP asks for time to reply to EC on Modi's "Khooni Panja" remark

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sought more time to reply to the notice issued by the Election Commission (EC) to Narendra Modi over his "Khooni Panja" remark, reports said on Saturday.

The BJP said it needs a week's time to respond since Modi is busy with election campaign.

The commission had asked Modi to submit a reply to it by November 16, as it held him prima facie guilty of making an unverifiable allegation against the Congress under the model code of conduct.

The code allows political parties to criticise opponents on policies, programmes and past record but not on something that cannot be substantiated.

The EC said it had obtained a CD of his speech on November 7 at Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh. The contents of the speech, it said, substantiated the complaint lodged by the Congress party.

The Congress on November 10 had accused Modi of violating the code by asking voters not to vote for the hand he described as "bloodied".

Modi had said, "When Atal Behari Vajpayee formed Chhattisgarh, whose hands did it first go into... Do you want such a "khooni panja" (bloodied hand) again... even by mistake, don't ever let Chhattisgarh go into the hands of a "zalim panja" (cruel hands).