TOI News Desk
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday rallied upon Congress and criticised it for releasing the manifesto for Jharkhand assembly election during the designated ‘silence period’, alleging it violated the election code.
BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra accused Congress and Rahul Gandhi of disregarding the “silent period.”
Patra in a press conference said, “According to the Constitution and election rules, the 48 hours before voting are known as the ‘silent period.’ During that time, no political party can campaign, cannot release its manifesto. Congress party, which is a national party, knowing that the silent period is going on, has released its manifesto yesterday. However, this is not the first time that the Congress party is doing this… Leader of the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, does not take the Election Commission seriously.”
Congress’s manifesto, titled Bharose ki Ghosna Patra, lays out 24 key promises, including 250 units of free electricity, a caste-based census, and a commitment to fill vacant government posts within a year. Additionally, Congress has pledged to conduct social audits every six months to track the manifesto’s implementation, if elected.
The manifesto was launched by former minister and committee chairman Bandhu Tirkey, along with Lohardaga MP Sukhdeo Bhagat. The Congress leaders promoted it under the slogan “Bharosa Barkarar, Fir Gatbandhan Sarkar.” The release comes a week after the INDIA bloc, led by Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), launched a joint manifesto outlining seven core guarantees, including the introduction of a domicile policy based on the 1932 khatiyan, the Sarna code, and a commitment to 10 lakh jobs.
In response, the BJP filed a formal complaint with the Election Commission, alleging that both Congress and JMM breached the silence period. BJP representative Sudhir Srivastava said, “The silent period starts after campaign closure, and no publicity, press conference, or releasing manifestos could be done during the period. But, the JMM and the Congress released their manifestos during the period, violating the model code of conduct.”
The JMM had separately released its manifesto on Monday, which included a promise of 33 per cent reservation for women in state government jobs. Jharkhand’s chief electoral officer, K Ravi Kumar, stated he would review the situation, emphasising that no political party is permitted to release a manifesto during the silence period.