The Election Commission (EC) has given BJP MLA from Telangana T. Raja Singh additional time to respond to its notice for prima facie violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by threatening Uttar Pradesh electors who don’t support the BJP, according to EC officials on Friday.
The EC had on Wednesday issued a show-cause notice to Mr. Singh after a video clip of his threatening those who don’t support U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was shared across media platforms. The EC notice had said that Mr. Singh was “prima facie” in violation of the MCC as well as provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act that deal with undue influence at elections and corrupt practices. The EC had given Mr. Singh 24 hours to respond, failing which it would proceed in the matter without further reference to him.
However, on Friday, a senior official said Mr. Singh had asked for additional time to respond and the EC had agreed to give him till Saturday to submit his reply.
In the video, Mr. Singh can be heard addressing the people of Uttar Pradesh and saying that the U.P. Chief Minister had arranged for thousands of bulldozers. He said the areas that don’t support the BJP would be identified and added “you do know what bulldozers are used for”.
