EC orders legal action against Prakash Ambedkar

The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday said that it has asked the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer to register a case against Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) chief Prakash Ambedkar for threatening to "throw the EC into jail" for banning any reference to the Pulwama terror attack during the Lok Sabha elections.

Deputy Election Commissioner Chandra Bhushan Kumar told the media that the poll panel has received a preliminary report from the District Magistrate of Yavatmal in Maharashtra confirming that Ambedkar had made those remarks during a rally there.

"This is an instance of clear-cut violation of our instructions... In this particular case, we have sought a detailed report from the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Maharashtra that cases are being registered under appropriate law against Prakash Ambedkar," Kumar said.

He said that as per the Indian Penal Code (IPC), sections related to criminal intimidation could be slapped in this case.

"We will know the exact details when the CEO submits a detailed report to us," the Deputy Election Commissioner added.

Ambedkar on Thursday threatened that if voted to power, his party would "throw the Election Commission into jail" for banning any reference to the Pulwama suicide attack during the elections.

"The armed forces are being sacrificed and the EC says we cannot speak about the Pulwama attack. But we shall speak about it because the Constitution grants us this freedom," Ambedkar, the grandson of the architect of Indian Constitution B.R. Ambedkar, told an election rally.

"The EC has become a puppet in the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). If our government comes to power, we shall not rest till we throw the EC into jail for at least two days," he said.

Ambedkar is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from his traditional stronghold of Akola and also from Solapur. In Solapur, he is pitted against Congress candidate and former Union Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

--IANS

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