Plea against Mayawati remark rejected by Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed at the admission stage a special leave petition against the BSP leader Mayawati which alleged that while addressing a press conference, she sought votes in the name of religion and caste.

Dismissing the SLP, a bench of justices S.A. Bobde and L. Nageswara Rao said, “Election process is going on in Uttar Pradesh and the model code of conduct is already in place and only the Election Commission could take appropriate action in the matter.  We will not interfere and the high court order is right.” The petitioner, Neeraj Shankar Saxena, a BJP office-bearer from UP, moved the Allahabad high court that on January 3, Ms. Mayawati declared BSP candidates list in the name of religion and caste. Counsel Vishnu Shankar Jain told the bench that in her January 3 press conference, Ms. Mayawati had appealed to Muslims to vote for the BSP; it amounted to seeking votes in the name of religion which was banned after a Constitution Bench declared elections as a secular exercise.

The petitioner said he had approached the Election Commission, which didn’t take action against the BSP chief.

The Allahabad High Court rejected a writ petition in this regard and the present appeal is directed against this order.