MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's speech, timed 30 mins before silence period, 'muted' by EC

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission, acting on a Congress complaint against a BJP advertisement published in newspapers in Madhya Pradesh declaring that chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan would hold an interaction with people of the state at 5.30 pm on Wednesday, asked the state chief electoral officer not to allow publicising of the said speech, for which no time limit had been indicated, in the poll-going constituencies where the 'silence period' kicked in at 6 pm.
Polling across all constituencies of Madhya Pradesh and 70 constituencies in Chhattisgarh is scheduled for November 17.
Earlier on Wednesday, the EC received a Congress representation drawing the poll panel's attention to the advertisement published by BJP in newspapers across Madhya Pradesh. The advertisement - which put out a letter from Chouhan detailing various initiatives and welfare schemes of his government, like 'Laadli Behna', to seek a fresh mandate for BJP - said that Chouhan, also a BJP candidate in the current polls, would speak to "the brothers and sisters of Madhya Pradesh at 5.30 pm" on Wednesday, barely 30 minutes before the 48-hour ban on campaigning stipulated by Section 126(1)(b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, took effect. The advertisement asked the people to tune in to news channels and various social media platforms for the interaction.
Congress sought restraining of Chouhan's public speech, saying that no time limit is provided to the speech and that it could not be allowed to be publicised in the constituencies where the silence period shall be in effect.
Sources said the commission, acknowledging the urgency of the matter, immediately issued directions to the chief electoral officer of Madhya Pradesh to take necessary steps to ensure that no campaigning takes place in the polling area after the commencement of the scheduled silence period.