In an unprecedented move, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued notices to political parties, seeking responses to alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by their star campaigners.

On Thursday, the poll panel wrote to BJP President J P Nadda regarding complaints about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge concerning complaints related both to him and party leader Rahul Gandhi. Putting the party presidents on notice, the ECI has sought ‘comments’ from Nadda and Kharge by 11 am on April 29.

This marks a departure from the past, where notices of alleged MCC violations were served directly to the candidate or star campaigner concerned. Even during the ongoing campaign for the Lok Sabha election 2024, all MCC notices served by the ECI have been issued directly to party leaders, including Dilip Ghosh of the BJP, Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and Supriya Shrinate, and AAP leader Atishi.

In the notice sent to the BJP, the ECI asked the party to respond to the complaints filed by opposition parties accusing the Prime Minister of delivering a “divisive and defamatory” statement during his speech in Rajasthan’s Banswara.

The Prime Minister, while addressing an election rally, had hit out at the Congress manifesto, alleging the party planned to redistribute the wealth of people to Muslims if it came to power. He also cited former PM Manmohan Singh’s remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country’s resources.

In its letter addressed to BJP President J P Nadda, the Election Commission asked him to respond to complaints. It also asked Nadda to bring to the notice of all-star campaigners of the party to “set high standards of political discourse and observe provisions of model code of conduct in letter and spirit”.

In the notice to Congress, the ECI asked the party to respond to complaints filed by the BJP against Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge with regard to their respective remarks.   The saffron party filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi with EC, claiming that the Congress leader hatched a conspiracy to cause North-South rift. The BJP alleged that Rahul was making every effort to make North and South fight.

“In view of the…plenary power of the political parties to nominate or withdraw the star campaigner’s status with associated responsibility and authority to control their star campaigners, the Commission has taken a view that while the individual star campaigner would continue to remain responsible for speeches made, the Commission will address party President/head of the political party, on case-to-case basis,” the ECI wrote in the notices to Nadda and Kharge.