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NEW DELHI — The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to restrain the Congress from “publishing, disseminating and distributing Guarantee Cards or any such material aimed to promote electoral bribery and inducement of voters”.
The party has also requested the poll panel to order filing of FIRs against the 'agents' of the Congress distributing the Guarantee Cards to the voters throughout India.
The BJP has termed the Congress’ “Ghar Ghar Guarantee” initiative -- launched by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on April 3 -- as a “corrupt practice that amounts to bribery”.
“This initiative purportedly involves disseminating Guarantee Cards to the households across India, purportedly containing QR code, perforated application form, and manifesto pledges,” the BJP said in its representation to the ECI.
“To further confound the wrong, the cards bear the promissory signatures of prominent Congress leaders, namely Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, as official endorsement,” stated the party, adding, “These purported activities raise serious concerns regarding grave violation of electoral laws and regulations, particularly about the manipulation of voters’ trust and the misrepresentation of the Guarantee Cards as legitimate instruments for accessing promised INC freebies, largesse and utopian promises.”
The party contended that “allowing such practices openly contradicts the principles of free and fair elections, and sets a precedent where only registered political supporters may be entitled to government schemes and not the remaining ones".
Citing the Model Code of Conduct and the Indian Penal Code, the BJP told the ECI that this practice falls under corrupt practice and bribery, and stern action needs to be taken in this case under the relevant laws.
The BJP also accused the Congress and its leaders of committing similar “unethical and illegal” acts in the past as well.
“During the Rajasthan Assembly polls in 2023, the Congress had carried out a similar surrogate campaign to bribe and mislead the voters and the EC had then taken a serious view of the matter,” the BJP submitted to the poll panel.
It further said that to an unsuspecting voter, it may sound as if such 'goodies' would actually be handed over to them and hence it amounts to inducement that is expressly barred under the laws of the land, including the Model Code of Conduct.
This practice erodes the sanctity of the electoral process and undermines the foundational principles of democracy, the BJP pointed out, stating that practices like this warrant thorough investigation and stringent enforcement of legal measures to preserve the integrity of the electoral system.