The Congress party on Thursday referred to the short notice given by the Election Commission to party chief Mallikarjun Kharge over his “terrorist” remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a “brief response” to the poll body’s notice to Kharj, the Congress said it had “ulterior motives” as there was no violation of the Model Code of Conduct or any other laws.
The Congress party sought time to file a detailed reply within one week while filing the summary reply.
“We have received two notices with the same number, F. No. 437/TNLA/2026/SS-I (MCC Complaint), both dated 22.04.2026 and signed by different officials of the Commission,” Congress General Secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh said in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
He said that if one of the notifications was withdrawn, there was no mention of it in either notification.
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“We would like to draw your attention to the fact that one of the notices even states that the so-called violation of the Model Code of Conduct is based on a complaint filed by Mr. Derek O’Brien of the All India Trinamool Congress on 21.04.2026. The other notice, which was also uploaded on your website, strangely dropped his name as the complainant,” Ramesh said.
In a swipe at the BJP, the letter also said that this refers to the “informal and routine manner in which the EC issues show-cause notices only on the basis of accounts of complainants of the ruling party and without any thought and by giving only 24 hours time for submission of responses”.
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In his reply letter, Ramesh pointed out the short time given to Karg to respond to the charges leveled against him in the notice amid the busy election schedule. “You would have realized that this is certainly not enough time given that the Congress President is in the middle of multiple campaigns,” the letter further said.
“Formality, not natural justice.”
Ramesh said it almost appears that the CEC is implementing the notification as a formality and not as an act of doing natural justice.
He added: “We are seeking time to provide a detailed response within one week, as well as for a large delegation of congressional leaders to provide the same response.”
In the brief reply, Ramesh said the comments were later clarified by Karg himself.
