The Congress on Thursday told the Election Commission of India (ECI) that party chief Mallikarjun Kharge did not violate the Model Code of Conduct and has already clarified his remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the poll panel did not move against the BJP.
On Wednesday, ECI issued a show cause notice to Karg, saying he prima facie violated the model code of conduct when he called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “terrorist” during a press conference in Chennai. Karg made the statement during a press conference on the last day of campaigning for the Tamil Nadu elections on Tuesday. He later defended himself, saying he meant the prime minister was “terrorizing” the country’s democratic fabric.
Responding to the show-cause notice hours before the committee’s 24-hour deadline, AICC General Secretary (Communication) Jairam Ramesh sought more time to respond to the notice.
In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Ramesh said: “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 two different officials of the Commission.”
He said that if one of the notifications was withdrawn, there was no mention of it in either notification.
“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.
He added: “This indicates the informal and routine manner in which the European Commission issues causal notices solely on the basis of the accounts of complainants from the ruling party and without any thought and by giving only 24 hours to submit responses.”
Expressing surprise at the short time given to Karg to respond to the accusations leveled against him in the notice, Ramesh said: “You would have realized that this is definitely not enough time given that the Congress president is in the middle of multiple campaigns.”
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.”
The Congress cited two alleged violations by the BJP which it said were ignored by ECI. The first case was Modi’s national speech after the failure of the 131st Constitutional Amendment, which Ramesh said amounted to a political attack on the Congress by name during an active election period. Secondly, a promising post by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on BJP X Index $3000 per month for women $3000 for unemployed youth $21,000 for pregnant women and travel by government bus is free. The Congress said this was a case of quid pro quo and bribery under Section 123 of the Representation of Persons Act, 1951.
Karg made the statement on Tuesday while criticizing the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alliance with the BJP.
“How are these people from AIADMK, who put up the picture themselves, doing? [former chief minister CN] Annadurai.. How can they join Modi? He is a terrorist… He does not believe in equality. His party will not believe in equality and justice. And these people join them, which means they weaken democracy, they weaken the philosophy of Annadurai, Kamarajar, [EV Ramaswamy]Periyar, Kalaignar [late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi] Kharg said: And Baba Sahib Ambedkar.
However, when later asked about his remarks, Kharge said he meant that the prime minister was “terrorizing” the country’s democratic fabric.
He added: “He is terrorizing people and political parties. I never said that he is a terrorist in the literal sense… He is abusing his power and government mechanisms and insulting and insulting the opposition parties.”
On Wednesday, a high-level BJP delegation comprising Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal met ECI, demanding strict action and a public apology from Karg.
Rijiju described the statement as “an issue for the entire nation”, saying that no political party had ever reached this level of disrespect, and that the delegation went to ECI “with sadness and anger”. Describing the Congress as “completely demoralized”, Sitharaman said the party was driven by “deep hatred towards the Prime Minister” on the eve of polls in Tamil Nadu and the first phase in West Bengal.
