The Election Commission of India (ECI) today, banned DMK’s deputy secretary and MP A Raja from campaigning for the party for 48 hours with immediate effect and also removed his name from DMK’s list of star campaigners. The commission has reprimanded Raja for his comments against CM Edappadi Palaniswami.

Meanwhile, DMK filed a plea with Madras HC to revoke the ban and requested an urgent hearing in the matter. However, the principal bench of the court consisting Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy refused to list the case for urgent hearing.

The ECI took the decision to ban A Raja after considering his written response to the Commission on a report sent by the chief electoral officer of Tamil Nadu Satyabrata Sahoo. “The Election Commission of India debars you from campaigning for 48 hours with immediate effect, reprimands you for violation of model code of conduct and delists your name from the list of star campaigner of DMK,” the EC notice says.

The notice issued by ECI also cautioned Raja not to resort such acts anymore. “The Commission also advises you to be watchful and not to make intemperate, indecent, derogatory, obscene remarks and lower the dignity of women in future during the election campaign.” notice said. The action by ECI was taken based on A Raja’s comment at Thousand Lights constituency last week. While comparing DMK president MK Stalin and CM Edappadi Palaniswami’s political career, he said, “Stalin is a child of good relationship and good birth while Edapadi Palaniswamy is a child of bad relationship and a premature born child”. The ECI referred to Raja’s speeches made on two different occasions to justify its decision to impose a ban on him.

Earlier, the ECI had sent A Raja a notice, stating the Commission had found the contents of his speech “derogatory but also obscene” and that they “lower the dignity of motherhood of women.” The EC had said this was serious violation of the provisions of model code of conduct.

In his response to the Election Commission notice, A Raja had said his speech was taken out of context. He said AIADMK and BJP had “falsely propagated” that he insulted Palaniswami. He also said that he had “not spoken anything that is violative of the model code of conduct, which is obscene or which will lower the dignity of mother or women, much less any other provision of law.”

He had denied making any “derogatory or defamatory speeches” against the chief minister. He also denied that he made any speech that would “demean or defame women or motherhood.”

Meanwhile, the issues related with violence against women continue to reverberate in TN election campaigns. DMK chief MK Stalin today lambasted UP chief minister Yogi Adithyanath for his comments on DMK. On Wednesday UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath accused the DMK of failing to safeguard women during its regime. But Stalin hit out at him saying he had no moral right to speak of women’s safety. Stalin said that according to the data of the Union Government, the highest number of atrocities and sexual assaults against women and girls were reported from Uttar Pradesh.

Shah lashes out at DMK

Union home minister Amit Shah today hit out at the DMK over its leader A Raja’s alleged vulgar remarks against TN chief minister K Palaniswami’s mother, saying it showed the party had no regard for women. The “mothers and sisters” of the state should teach a ‘lesson’ to the DMK in the April 6 Assembly polls by defeating it, he said, adds PTI.

Addressing an election rally here, Shah canvassed votes for NDA candidates-those from the AIADMK, BJP and the PMK,even as he charged the DMK with aiming to romp home in the polls by ‘hook or crook’.

Referring to Raja’s alleged offensive remarks targeted at Palaniswami, leader of the BJP’s ally AIADMK, Shah also accused the DMK and Congress of corruption and dynasty. “In the past, DMK made such bad remarks against (the late Chief Minister) Jayalalithaa ji.