New Delhi, April 22 (Inditop) The Election Commission Wednesday issued notice to Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) Lucknow candidate Akhilesh Das for his objectionable remarks against his Samajwadi Party rival Nafisa Ali.
“In Nafisa Ali’s case, after watching the video, the commission has decided to issue a notice to Akhilesh Das,” Deputy Election Commissioner J.P. Prakash told reporters here.
He said the BSP candidate had violated the model code of conduct by delving into the private aspect of the life of a person which constitutes character assassination.
Das, who joined the BSP after leaving the Congress, has been asked to give his reply by Thursday 5 p.m.
He had described Ali as a “budhiya” with “white hair”. He also made it a point to describe her husband as a Sikh, apparently to convey to the Muslims amongst the voters that she was not married into a Muslim family.
On April 13, at a poll rally, Das had said: “By virtue of her marriage, Nafisa’s full name should be Nafisa Sodhi and not Ali since her husband is a Sodhi; but of course that depends on what relationship she has with her husband; as far as Indian society is concerned, husband is pati-parmeshwar (husband-god).”
Das went on to add: “I don’t know why Amar Singh could not find a younger nominee to contest against me; after all I am still quite young and would have felt much better with a young rival on the other side.”
His objectionable remarks had drawn flak. The first to react was Priyanka Gandhi, who had said: “Women must be respected and it is very shameful if someone does not do that.”
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