Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed political parties, and their leaders to refrain from seeking votes on the basis of caste, religion, and language, and not insult the devotee-deity relation or make any suggestion of a divine censure.
In an advisory issued to all political parties on Friday, the EC cited previous examples of such indirect violations using known methodologies to avoid strictures under the model code of conduct (MCC), and conveyed that “stern action would be taken against direct or indirect MCC violations”.
The EC also said that temples, mosques, churches, gurdwaras, or any other place of worship should not be used for poll propaganda or electioneering.
The poll panel warned the parties to maintain decorum in public campaigning and put additional responsibility on star campaigners and candidates, especially those who were issued notices in the past. It asked the parties to raise the level of the election campaign to issue-based debate and said the parties and their leaders should not make statements without factual basis or mislead the voters.
