In the poll medley has come a favourable verdict for Rahul Gandhi. The EC has said Gandhi’s reference to BJP chief Amit Shah as a murder accused was not a violation of the Model Code of conduct.
But there was good news for the BJP, too. The poll body has given a clean chit to PM Modi, saying he did not violate the model code of conduct during his election speech in Rajasthan, where he invoked the armed forces and said that India’s nuclear button was not an option to be exercised on Diwali.
This is the 3rd clean chit to be given to the prime minister. In a speech, Gandhi had cited an old murder case in which Shah was discharged five years ago. “Murder accused BJP President Amit Shah….waah! kya shaan hai (Wow, how grand)… Have you heard Jay Shah’s name? He is a magician, he turned Rs. 50,000 into Rs. 80 crore in 3 months,” Gandhi had said at an election rally.
Shah was named in a case involving the alleged fake encounter of a gangster, Sohrabuddin Sheikh, which took place in 2005. But in 2014, a court had ruled that there was not enough evidence against him to merit a trial. Last year, the Bombay High Court dismissed a petition against the CBI’s decision to not challenge the trial court’s order discharging Shah.
