EC pulls up Congress leader for hate speech

The Central Election Commission has publicly censured KC Abu, senior Congress leader from Kerala for misusing religion for canvasing votes. The BJP had approached the Commission seeking action against the Congress leader. 

Abu is the District Congress Committee President (DCC) Kozhikode. During an election convention on 7 April, he had urged the voters to choose Adam Mulsi, the Congress candidate of Beypore, as it would benefit the Muslim Community.  The controversial speech was delivered in the presence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. 

 The police also registered a case against the Congress leader following a complaint by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate KP Prakash Babu, alleging that Abu incited communal sentiments aiming at the religious polarisation of voters in the constituency. The BJP leader had also filed a complaint with the Election Commission and the Commission, in turn, sought an explanation from Abu. 

The public censure was made by the Commission after it found the explanation by the Congress leader unacceptable.  His speech had elicited sharp responses from across the political spectrum and even from the Congress-led United Democratic Front. 

• kerala elections 2016
• KC Abu
• Hate Speech