Karnataka assembly polls: EC seeks clarification on Sonia Gandhi’s ‘sovereignty’ remark

The last leg of Karnataka assembly elections saw a massive political storm brewing between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress over Sonia Gandhi’s alleged remarks that seemingly endorsed “sovereignty” for India’s southern Karnataka state.

On Monday morning, a delegation of the BJP went to the country’s poll panel, the Election Commission of India (ECI), to lodge a complaint and sought punitive action against her.

“She (Sonia Gandhi) deliberately used the word sovereignty. Congress manifesto is the agenda of the 'Tukde-Tukde' (anti-national) gang and hence they are using such words. We hope EC will take action against this anti-national act,” Union Minister Bhupender Yadav told reporters outside the office.

The saffron party urged the Election Commission to revoke the registration of the Congress party "that acts in clear violation of the mandatory oath of upholding the Sovereignty, Unity & Integrity of India" and sought appropriate preventive and punitive action in accordance with the Model Code of Conduct.

In response, the poll bodyissueda letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to provide clarification and take rectification measures with a Twitter post put up on the Official INC Twitter handle and attributed to Sonia Gandhi.

"The Commission received a complaint dated 8th May 2023 submitted by the leaders of BJP, Bhupender Yadav, Dr Jitendra Singh, Tarun Chugh, Anil Baluni and Om Pathak...According to the complaint made by BJP, the above tweet is violative of the mandatory oath undertaken by the political parties under section 29A (5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 at the time of registration,"Election Commission said in its notice.

The BJP moved the EC a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while campaigning in Karnataka, lambasted Sonia Gandhi for “insulting” India’s sovereignty by suggesting secession of the southern state from the rest of the country.

“Not only Karnataka, I want to tell this to the entire country with a lot of pain that in this election Congress’s ‘shahi parivar’ (royal family) yesterday came to Karnataka and said that they want to protect the ‘sovereignty’ of Karnataka,” he said.

“Do you know what is the meaning of it... When a country becomes independent, that country is called a sovereign country. The meaning of what Congress is saying is that the Congress believes that Karnataka is separate from India,” he said.

Modi was responding to a Twitter post from Congress’ official account on May 6 which had quoted Sonia Gandhi as saying during an election rally in Huballi-Dharwad, “The Congress will not allow anyone to pose a threat to Karnataka's reputation, sovereignty or integrity."

Gandhi, in a scathing attack on the BJP, said, "Karnataka and the rest of the country cannot make progress without getting rid of the ruling party’s loot, lies, ego and hatred."

She was joined on the stage by Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Karnataka's formerchief minister Jagadish Shettar, who recently quit BJP over the denial of a ticket and joined the party.

Congress fielded Shettar, a six-time MLA, from the Hubli-Dharwad Central constituency, from where he had won the previous Assembly polls in 2018.

Karnataka will vote in a single-phase election on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.

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