Pawns in a bigger game

India’s EC has incurred the wrath of the BJP

‘Security concerns’ has evolved from being just another expression, and is now a euphemism for subversion.

By endorsing a No-Modi-rally-in- Varanasi stance adopted by the returning officer of this eastern UP district, India’s EC has incurred the wrath of the BJP. The officer in question, meanwhile, had no qualms about permitting a rally by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the city, the most high-profile Lok Sabha seat this election, thanks to Narendra Modi’s candidacy. By preventing Modi from campaigning in his own constituency over a ‘newly obtained intelligence tip’ looks frivolous, considering that the candidate has been campaigning zealously in the city for months now. If the returning officer has demonstrated an inexplicable bias, then by backing him, the EC has abandoned its values. “Timid men can dwarf high offices,” says BJP leader Arun Jaitley. It is tough to prove him wrong.

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