EC orders action on DMK complaint against Karandlaje over cafe blast remark
Acting on DMK’s complaint, poll panel directs Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer to take immediate action, seeks compliance report within 48 hours
The Election Commission (EC) has directed the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer to take immediate and appropriate action on the DMK’s complaint about alleged model code violation by Union minister and Karnataka BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje.
The poll panel on Wednesday (March 20) also sought a compliance report on the matter within 48 hours.
The DMK has sought action against Karandlaje for alleging that a person from Tamil Nadu was responsible for the IED blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru on March 1.
This is the first action ordered by the EC against a key political figure this Lok Sabha pols.
DMK’s complaint
In its complaint to the EC earlier in the day, the DMK said the minister’s statement generalised the people of Tamil Nadu as “extremists”.
During a protest in Bengaluru on Tuesday, she had said that “law and order in Karnataka has deteriorated. People come from Tamil Nadu and plant bombs here, people from Delhi chant ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans, and people who come from Kerala were involved in acid attacks”.
Karandlaje later apologised for her remarks and said she was retracting her comments.
The Madurai police have booked her for “promoting enmity” between different groups, while her remarks have drawn sharp criticism from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and other DMK leaders.
(With agency inputs)