Congress 'guarantee cards' amount to bribery, stop distribution: BJP to EC

Congress ‘guarantee cards’ amount to bribery, stop distribution: BJP to EC

NEW DELHI: BJP approached Election Commission on Tuesday, urging the panel to stop Congress’ “Ghar Ghar Guarantee” outreach to people, slamming the opposition party’s poll campaign initiative as a corrupt practice amounting to bribery.

BJP said the initiative was unveiled on April 3 by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and its workers are distributing “guarantee cards” to households, presenting them application papers for accessing the party’s promised benefits. “To further confound the wrong, the cards bear promissory signatures of prominent leaders of Indian National Congress, namely Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, as an official endorsement,” stated BJP’s communication to the poll panel.

BJP claimed that such an initiative was akin to manipulation of voters’ trust and misrepresentation of guarantee cards as legitimate instruments for accessing promised “freebies, largesse and utopian promises”.

“Allowing such practices openly contradicts the principles of free and fair elections, and sets a precedent where only registered political supporters may be entitled to government schemes, and not the remaining ones,” the BJP complaint to EC said.

The party told EC to “immediately restrain Congress from publishing, disseminating and distributing ‘Guarantee Cards’ or any such material aimed to promote electoral bribery and inducement of voters”. It also sought registration of criminal cases against Congress members distributing the cards.

For more news like this visit TOI. Get all the Latest News, City News, India News, Business News, and Sports News. For Entertainment News, TV News, and Lifestyle Tips visit Etimes