NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday complained to the Election Commission of India against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his objectionable comments against the party manifesto, saying it had an imprint of the Muslim League. A delegation comprising former union minister Salman Khurshid, senior leaders Mukul Wasnik, Pawan Khera and Gurdeep Sappal met the commission officials and lodged the complaint. The party also raised the matter of the Prime Minister’s hoardings in Delhi and the misuse of his pictures with the defence personnel. The party leaders said they also showed the EC officials its earlier advisory against such practice. The party delegation also flagged for the attention of the commission the curbs on free speech, like the banning of YouTube channels or the handles of people and journalists at the behest of the government. They said they told the EC that the authority to ban any channel during the elections should be with the commission and not with the government. The delegation said that the commission agreed with the party’s suggestion that there must not be any curbs on free speech. Party general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, later, in a tweet, said, “This is the time for the Election Commission to demonstrate its independence by ensuring a level playing field. We live in hope that the Honourable Election Commission will uphold its constitutional mandate.”
