P Chidambaram targets EC over Gujarat poll date, BJP hits back

New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi continued his jibes against the top BJP leadership as he tweeted on Friday that he would neither speak himself about “Shah-zada” not allow others to do so. Mr Gandhi’s tweet came after an Ahmedabad court restrained a Web news portal from publishing or broadcasting reports based on an article published by it about BJP president Amit Shah’s son Jay Amit Shah’s company. “Mitron (friends), will not speak about ‘Shah-zada’, nor will let anyone speak,” Mr Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.

A news portal recently published an article claiming that a company owned by Mr Jay Shah saw a huge rise in its turnover after the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014. The Congress demanded the removal of Mr Amit Shah as BJP chief and the setting up of a two-member judicial commission of inquiry comprising judges of the Supreme Court to go into his son’s business dealings. Mr Gandhi and the Congress have repeatedly questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue.

Meanwhile, former finance minister P. Chidambaram on Friday targeted the Election Commission in a series of tweets over its delay in announcing the Gujarat election dates, and said: “EC has authorised PM to announce date of Gujarat elections at his last rally (and kindly keep EC informed).” Mr Chidambaram also claimed the Election Commission will be “recalled” from its “extended holiday” after the Gujarat government has announced all “concessions and freebies”. Speaking to reporters in Gandhinagar, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani said: “Chidambaramji and the Congress are scared of the coming (Assembly) elections. We believe the elections should happen in due time, and it will happen so. But they are scared due to their desperation. And criticising the Election Commission is not the right thing in a democracy.”

Hitting back at the Congress for targeting the EC, BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the allegations levelled against the constitutional body were without any basis. He said: “It is absolutely absurd. It’s like questioning the prudence of the EC. The Congress is perhaps speaking out of its own experience where interference in the functioning of constitutional bodies used to be a thing in their rule. Such is not the case since 2014.”

Continuing the attack, the BJP said Mr Chidambaram’s criticism of the EC was part of the party’s “save Rahul” campaign as it fears a defeat in the election will stall his elevation to party chief. BJP spokesman G.V.L. Narsimha Rao said: “Chidambaram seems to view the EC from his jaundiced eyes. Sonia Gandhi, as an extra-constitutional authority, had subverted institutions and remote-controlled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. PM Modi is a quintessential democrat, and does not interfere in the functioning of any institutions.”

The EC had on October 12 announced that polling for Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh will take place on November 9, but held off announcing the Gujarat schedule. The Congress alleged that the Centre had put pressure on the EC to delay the announcement of dates for the Gujarat elections.