India has entered full election mode: voting is due to begin on 11 April, with the final ballot cast more than five weeks later on 19 May.
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Online - 04th April, 2019) India has entered full election mode: voting is due to begin on 11 April, with the final ballot cast more than five weeks later on 19 May. Every day, the BBC will be bringing you all the latest updates on the twists and turns of the world's largest democracy.Yogi Adityanath in hot water over army commentIndia's Election Commission has demanded that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath explain his reference to India's army as "Narendra Modi's army" - the remark could be deemed a violation of the election code.
The commission has asked Mr Adityanath, a close ally of Prime Minister Modi, to respond by Thursday, an election official told The Hindu newspaper.Mr Adityanath's comment, which he made at a BJP party rally on Sunday, drew criticism even from the candidate he had been campaigning for, retired Indian army chief and minister General VK Singh."If someone says that the Indian Army is Modi-ji's Army then not only is that person wrong but [he] is, in fact, a traitor," Gen Singh told BBC Hindi in an exclusive interview.
But he added: "This is a slip of tongue. I don't think he even realised what he said."The Election Commission (EC) has previously issued an advisory that political parties and leaders must "exercise great caution while making any reference to the armed forces in their political campaigns". So far it has just issued a "show cause notice" to Mr Adityanath - who will have to explain himself.But it's unclear what action the EC could actually take if it is not satisfied with his response.
Opposition parties have demanded he apologise for the comments. Gen Singh is not the only retired general to have weighed in and emphasise that the army does not belong to any political party.This is not the first time that the BJP has been accused of politicising the armed forces ahead of this election. Mr Modi has campaigned heavily on national security issues following recent hostilities between India and Pakistan.
