AIADMK files complaint against DMK's Udayanidhi Stalin with ECI for 'violating' poll code

AIADMK accused Udayanidhi Stalin of using hate speech and wooing women voters during his election campaign.

"Udayanidhi Stalin made hate speech in his election campaign. Secondly, he has tried to influence women voters by saying he will give Rs 1000 monthly to leftover women in Tamil Nadu within 4 months after the election. It is a government scheme. He is trying to influence the voters by making false promises and misusing the minister's post in the election campaign," AIADMK leader IS Inbadurai said.

AIADMK has asked the poll body to intervene in the matter and take action within 48 hours in the matter.

"If EC is not taking any action on our complaint ten we will approach court on it," he said.

The Model Code of Conduct is in effect after the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections was announced by the Election Commission of India on March 16.

Earlier, the Supreme Court on Monday told the Tamil Nadu minister and DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin that he cannot claim to be in the same position as media and news channels while seeking clubbing of multiple FIRs registered against him for his "eradicate Sanatan Dharma" remark.

"You (Stalin) have made the statements voluntarily," said a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta.

The observation of the bench came as Stalin, while seeking the apex court's intervention to club all the FIRs lodged against him in the matter, relied on judgements rendered by the Supreme Court in cases involving journalists such as Republic TV anchor Arnab Goswami, Mohammed Zubair, Amish Devgan and Nupur Sharma.

All 39 seats of Tamil Nadu will poll in the first phase of the general elections on April 19 and the counting of votes, along with those from other phases, has been scheduled for June 4.

In 2019, the DMK swept the Lok Sabha polls in the state, winning 23 Lok Sabha seats and bagging the lion's share of the total votes polled, at 33.2 per cent. Its ruling ally, Congress, bagged 8 seats, mining 12.9 per cent of the total votes polled, while the CPI won two seats. CPI (M) and IUML won one seat each while the remaining two seats went to Independents.

The elections to 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country will be held in seven phases, starting April 19. Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to get their fingers inked this time. (ANI)