The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday found the Bharatiya Janata Party's Uttar Pradesh (BJP) leader and candidate from Pilibhit, Varun Gandhi, guilty of anti-Muslim speeches which sparked widespread criticism, the Times of India reported. The EC rejected Varun's response to the verdict and advised the party to not issue him a ticket to fight the Lok Sabha elections. While Gandhi in his reply to the EC's notice had claimed that the disk, containing the alleged hate-speech, was doctored, Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami had gone on record stating that the onus was on Gandhi to prove that the recording was doctored. In a statement the BJP distanced itself from Gandhi's inflammatory speeches and told the EC that his remarks did not represent the views of the party. “We would like to examine the EC ruling and would come out with a structured response in a day or two,” he said. As per sources, the party is not convinced and may question the authority of the EC “to decide which candidate to be fielded in the fray.” Former election commissioner GVG Krishnamurthy says the action against Ghandi is hasty and beyond the EC's jurisdiction. “The Election Commission has no jurisdiction to take action against Gandhi” for his alleged inflammatory speeches, Krishnamurthy said in an interview. Krishnamurthy says this is because the model electoral code of conduct comes into effect only after President Pratibha Patil notifies the elections in the official gazette. Until then Gandhi cannot be considered an Election Commission recognized candidate. He says the commission has too quickly for violation of the model code of conduct and only the police can move against him under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for inciting communal passions.
