The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a show cause notice to Abhijit Gangopadhyay, the BJP candidate, for his remarks against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a public meeting in Haldia on May 15. The remarks were found to be in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) provisions and the ECI advisory dated March 1, 2024.
The Commission in its notice noted that “the comment is improper, injudicious, beyond dignity in every sense of the term, in bad taste“ and prima facie violative of the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and Commission’s advisory dated 1st March 2024. The Commission has sought a response by May 20.
On Friday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Abhijit Gangopadhyay, the BJP candidate for the Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency. The complaint accuses Gangopadhyay of making purportedly 'sexist' comments directed at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a public rally.
In a purported video which surfaced on Thursday Gangopadhyay was heard wondering about "the amount at which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is getting sold," triggering a row with the TMC labelling it as BJP's guarantee of disrespecting women, while the saffron party raised doubts about the clip's authenticity.