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The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to disqualify Prime Minister Narendra Modi for six years from elections for allegedly making hate speeches and invoking religion during campaigns.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Satish Chandra Sharma allowed the petitioner to withdraw the plea as it was not inclined to entertain the plea. "You must approach authority. If you want to withdraw, we will permit you," told the bench to the petitioner's (Fatima) counsel to which he agreed to withdraw the petition. It sought direction that the Prime Minister be restrained from seeking votes in the name of religious deities and places of worship. The petitioner alleged that the speech made by the Prime Minister at Banswara on April 21 during campaigning was inflammatory and against communal harmony. It referred to other speeches made by Modi during campaigning. The apex court also dismissed another petition that sought directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to act against Prime Minister Modi and Union Minister Anurag Thakur for alleged hate speeches during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The petition stated that the poll panel had completely "failed in its duty to conduct free and fair elections" as per the mandate of the Constitution by permitting repeated violations of not just the Model Code of Conduct, but other laws as well. (ANI)
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