The BJP on Friday met the Election Commission (EC) demanding immediate action against Congress president Rahul Gandhi for “influencing” voters through paid news under the garb of his interview in a Hyderabad newspaper. The BJP said it was in violation of the model code of conduct.

A party delegation comprising senior BJP leaders JP Nadda and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi met the Commission in New Delhi and demanded action against Rahul.

Talking to reporters, Naqvi said, 48 hours before the close of poll, the

Congress chief had given an interview to a Hyderabad-based newspaper and claimed his party’s victories in Telangana and other States citing some poll surveys.

He alleged that this was a violation of poll norms as Rahul tried to influence the free and fair polls. Naqvi said the BJP has also lodged a complaint about booth capturing in some areas in Rajasthan and demanded re-polling there.

Referring to the interview that Rahul gave to the English daily, published on December 6, a day before the Telangana Assembly polls, the BJP alleged that the report was a shining example of paid news for and on behalf of the Congress. Apart from the interview, the front page coverage on December 6 was another glaring example of paid news in the garb of reporting, the complaint mentioned.

In the interview, Rahul refers to some poll surveys and seeks to influence voters during the period of electoral silence, 48 hours before the close of poll.

The reference to opinion polls or surveys too violates the letter and spirit of the Electoral Laws, it contended.