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INDIA bloc up in arms over PM Modi’s Kumari ‘pollitrick­s’

CHENNAI: The opposition INDIA bloc has come out strongly against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to meditate for a couple of days at Vivekanand­a Rock in Kanniyakum­ari on the eve of the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections on June 1.

A member of the Kanniyakum­ari unit of the advocate’s wing of the DMK, which leads the INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu, has reportedly petitioned the district election officer, objecting to the PM meditating at one of the preferred tourist spots in the land’s end.

Advocate Joseph Raj, organiser of the DMK advocate’s wing in Kanniyakum­ari, has requested the district collector, and district election officer of Kanniyakum­ari, to deny nod to the PM’s meditation.

However, the DMK has preferred to distance itself from the petition challengin­g the PM’s meditation exercise. Senior advocate of the Madras High Court NR Elango, who heads the advocate’s wing of the DMK, told DT Next that the advocate has done it without the concurrenc­e of the wing’s headquarte­rs. If sources in the party are to be believed, the DMK was not averse to politicall­y opposing the PM’s plan but was not favourably disposed to complain to election officials formally.

Meanwhile, the other allies of the INDIA bloc had no qualms in voicing their objection to the PM’s meditation trip. Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K Selvaperun­thagai said the “meditation drama” was proof of how low PM Modi could go for power. “Choosing Vivekanand­a rock to meditate for gains in the 57-seat final phase of the parliament­ary polls cannot be anything more than a political scam,” Selvaperun­thagai remarked

CPM state secretary K Balakrishn­an, in a letter to the chief election commission­er, sought to ban the telecast and broadcast of the proposed Modi’s meditation “in violation of the model code of conduct”.

Balakrishn­an said the telecast of Modi’s meditation live on news channels would become a huge propaganda for his party. “This will affect the level playing field, defeat the very purpose of ending the campaign 48 hours earlier,” he pointed out.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also said the TMC will complain to the EC if PM’s Kanniyakum­ari visit is televised, claiming it would be a violation of the election Model Code of Conduct.