Narendra Modi: Had warned Pak regarding IAF pilot's safe return

Gujarat's election chief says code of conduct violation will be verified regarding IAF mention

Ahmedabad: Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned Indian Air Force wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman during an election rally in the state, Gujarat's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Murali Krishna has asserted that a local election official will send a report on it if any violation is found.

He also asserted that the commission has not taken any cognizance on the issue. Earlier in the day, while addressing a poll rally in Patan district, Modi had said that he had warned Pakistan of consequences after Abinandan was detained.

CPI candidate from Begusarai constituency Kanhaiya Kumar during campaigning for Lok Sabha polls, in Begusarai. Pics/AFP AND PTI

"When Abhinandan was captured by Pakistan, I said (to Pakistan) that if anything happens to our pilot then we will not leave you," he had said. The EC had directed political parties to advise their candidates and leaders to desist from displaying photographs of defence personnel in advertisements as part of their election campaign and exercise caution while making reference to armed forces.

The EC had stated, "The Armed Forces of a nation are the guardian of its frontiers, security and the political system. They are apolitical and neutral stakeholders in a modern democracy. It is, therefore, necessary that the political parties and leaders exercise great caution while making any reference to them in political campaigns."

April 23
Third phase of LS elections

Congress releases report on national security
The Congress on Sunday made public a report on national security by a task force headed by Lt Gen (retd) D S Hooda and said the issue was important but it would be "completely wrong" to say that it was dominating the poll narrative. The party said the top three issues affecting people were unemployment, farm distress and the security of people. The Congress unveiled the report in the presence of senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh and said that its approach towards national security is "not ad hoc" and not impulsive. "The number one issue remains unemployment. The number two issue is farm distress and the number three issue is security of various sections of the people, women, Dalits, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, forest dwellers, journalists, academicians, NGOs," Chidambaram said.

Farmers ignored under SP and BSP: UP CM

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for ignoring the plight of the farmers and the poor law and order situation, during the tenure of the respective governments. "Under BJP, we have been working under the plank of development. Infrastructural development has boomed in the last five years. New highways, roads and rail lines have been built. But under SP and BSP, farmers were ignored and their lands were usurped. Our girls were also not safe and violence used to happen often," Adityanath said in a rally here. He claimed that the BJP improved the law and order situation in the last two years after his government came to power and took a tough stand against miscreants.

Pragya gets notice for Babri remark

The Election Commission has issued another show-cause notice to BJP's Bhopal Lok Sabha candidate and Malegaon blast accused Pragya Singh Thakur for her remark that she was proud of her participation in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Thakur made the controversial remark while speaking to a television channel. After getting the EC show-cause notice, Thakur said she stood by her remark and that the notice would be replied to legally.

Star campaigners for Kanhaiya Kumar

Top Left leaders Sitaram Yechury, D Raja and Sudhakar Reddy and Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar will descend on the soil of Bihar next week to campaign in Begusarai where former JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar is pitted against Union minister and firebrand BJP leader Giriraj Singh. Yechury will be addressing a rally in Begusarai on April 23 while his CPI counterpart Sudhakar Reddy will be there on the same day and the day after. The CPI national secretary D Raja will be arriving in Patna on Monday for a five-day tour of Bihar, from April 23 to 26, during which he will also campaign for Kanhaiya.

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