tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post7026628534348274495..comments2023-09-21T16:17:51.838+05:30Comments on Law and Other Things: Narendra Modi -Sonia Gandhi spat: Limits to how Election Commission can interveneAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09348738084817273397noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post-25804544709068412162007-12-10T09:12:00.000+05:302007-12-10T09:12:00.000+05:30This is a tempest in a teapot. Sohrabuddin does no...This is a tempest in a teapot. Sohrabuddin does not represent the Muslim community. Nor did Modi suggest that he should be dealt with extra-judicially <I>because</I> of his communal affiliation. If speaking of a particular individual in association with terrorism somehow amounts to ‘indulging in activity which may aggravate existing differences, creating mutual hatred and causing tension between different communities’, then surely one cannot talk about Osama Bin Laden, Hafeez Mohamed Sayeed, Maulana Masood Azhar or any other known terrorist leader or sympathizer as well. Likewise, for the Congress and the Communists, surely, speaking of Nathuram Godse, Babu Bajrangi, and others is out of the question as well and by the same standard, the ‘merchants of death’ remark clearly inappropriate (since those gentlemen quite naturally must represent the Hindu Community). And why stop with terrorism? Speaking of a criminal who happens to be a dalit must surely imply a slur on all dalits and ‘aggravate existing differences between different communities’. Even labeling corruption charges against individuals may fall under this axe since the concerned persons no longer represent their own selves but carry the unusually heavy burden of their entire community’s image and moral values as a whole (whew!). If one were seeking to silence an election campaign, this is probably a good way to go about it. That way, people can simply vote their caste/communal identities without having to bother about real issues (which are obviously considered too unsettling by the complainants, a view perhaps shared by the wise men of Nirvachan Sadan) like in the last Iraqi election.<BR/><BR/>Modi’s reply is a well-articulated rebuttal of this fanciful claim and highlights the dangers of the EC’s unwarranted intervention. The EC ought to have thrown the complaints out in the first place without serving any notice. It could still favor everyone by doing the same without further ado.Dilip Raohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18294894305584371011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post-31564905645931204262007-12-10T08:22:00.000+05:302007-12-10T08:22:00.000+05:30EC has issued notices to Sonia,Digvijay. In the he...EC has issued notices to Sonia,Digvijay. In the heat of campaign such accusations and counters have become common. This war of words is a political game and EC's options are limited. The real issues are not addressed and passions are whipped up.Congress has issued a manifesto that promises so many things and freebies.ரவி ஸ்ரீநிவாஸ்https://www.blogger.com/profile/10176389904737294055noreply@blogger.com