Flaying Prime Minister Narendra Modi for claiming that 40 Trinamool Congress MLAs were in touch with him and will defect to the BJP once the Lok Sabha election results were out, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday demanded that his candidature be cancelled for encouraging horse trading during the polls.
"Yesterday he (Modi) said 40 of my MLAs are in touch with him. This will fall under the anti-defection law. He is saying unconstitutional things while holding a constitutional position. Doesn't he have any shame? He is violating the Constitution and has no right to be the Prime Minister," Banerjee said at an election rally in Bhadreswar in Hoogly district.
"His candidature should be cancelled. First save Delhi, then try to buy off MLAs from Bengal. It will be of no use. Even if he buys all the MLAs, our government will not fall," the Trinamool Congress supremo said.
Banerjee also said that no matter what Modi and his party does, the people of Bengal will never vote a party like the BJP to power.
"Don't expect that people of Bengal will allow the BJP to come to power here. They know that the BJP is a riot mongering force, which wants to divide people," she said.
Addressing a rally in Sreerampur in Hoogly district on Monday, Modi had claimed that 40 Trinamool Congress MLAs were in touch with him who will abandon Banerjee once the election results were out on May 23.
On Monday evening,
Trinamool leader Derek O'Brian filed a complaint with the Election Commission, urging it to conduct an inquiry into Modi's alleged "horse trading" comment and sought cancellation of his nomination for violation of the model code of conduct.
In his complaint, O'Brian said Modi had hinted that members of West Bengal's ruling party will cross over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in order to "influence the voters".
"We demand that the Election Commission of India take cognizance of this unfounded, inappropriate and illegal campaign and utterances of Narendra Modi and take strong action against him as per rules," he said.
He also requested the EC to ask Modi for evidence in support of his statement, "failing which his nomination should be cancelled for violation of the model code of conduct by making provocative and undemocratic statements."
The 10th schedule of the Indian Constitution, also known as the Anti-Defection Act, was amended in 1985 to prevent defection and stop politicians from changing parties. It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the presiding officer of a legislature based on a petition filed by any other member of the House.
