Nitin Raut accuses BJP leader Shelar of polarising votes, seeks SEC action

Congress leader Nitin Raut filed a complaint with SEC against BJPrsquos Ashish Shelar for allegedly making communal misleading statements to polarise votes ahead of Maharashtra local electionsIn a letter dated November 4 Tuesday addressed to the State Election Commissioner Raut alleged that Shelar made ldquoa highly objectionable and legally impermissible statementrdquo during a press conference on November 2The Congress leaders complaint cites Shelarrsquos claim that there were ldquo8342 duplicate Muslim votes in North Nagpurrdquo arguing that the remark targets a specific religious community and promotes communal hatred and divisionAccording to Raut Shelarrsquos comments not only attempt religious appeasement and vote polarisation but also undermine the neutrality and authority of the Election Commission which is solely responsible for voter registration and verificationThe complaint references Section 1233 of the Representation of the People Act 1951 which prohibits the use of religion caste or community for electoral gainRaut urged SEC to initiate strict action against Shelar for violating the Model Code of Conduct and electoral lawsldquoElection Commission of Maharashtra must take immediate cognisance of Shri Ashish Shelarrsquos statement and initiate stringent action to set a precedent for the public at largerdquo he wroteRaut also requested SEC to issue directives to all political parties to refrain from making communal statements during the election period and to consider legal proceedings under the relevant provisions of the Representation of the People Act 1951 and Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita BNSThe Maharashtra local body polls will be held on December 2Shelar on Monday had accused Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS President Raj Thackeray of practising appeasement politics by pointing out only duplicate Hindu voter names while allegedly ignoring similar irregularities in the Muslim voter listCongress forms key panels to strengthen party ahead of Maharashtra local body electionsFacing a crucial test ahead of Maharashtra local body elections the Congress is working to rebuild its organisation and reconnect with urban voters especially ahead of the BMC pollsIn preparation for the polls the party has formed several committees to strengthen coordination and streamline its election strategyFormer minister Suresh Shetty will head the manifesto committee while party spokesperson Sureshchandra Rajhans will lead the war room MLA Amin Patel has been appointed chief of the election campaign committee senior leader Manhas Singh will chair the election management committee and BK Tiwari will oversee the disciplinary committee the party said in a statementMumbai Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad expressed confidence that the newly formed teams would work collectively to ensure a strong performance in the civic polls Party insiders said the committees will focus on drafting the poll manifesto planning outreach campaigns and maintaining internal discipline and communicationWith ANI inputs