Kolkata: Former union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Shourie Monday demanded that the Election Commission come out with its advisory on all prospective candidates after scanning their bio-data instead of singling out Varun Gandhi.
Describing as strange the Election Commission's advisory to the BJP that it should not field Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit, Shourie said, "The EC is not there to write editorials".
"How can they give such an advisory? It's a strange role the EC has taken upon itself. If it takes the role seriously, it should go through the bio-data of all prospective candidates and come out with advisories on each of them".
He said the advisory was given even before the filing of an FIR against Varun, who has been accused of making hate speeches during his election campaign in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh.
The 29-year-old Varun Gandhi courted controversy after his speeches, that had derogatory references to Muslims, gained media attention. Gandhi maintains that the CDs of his speeches, aired repeatedly on television, were doctored.
The Election Commission came down heavily on him and suggested that he should not be fielded as a candidate in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP refused to heed to the EC and questioned the commission's jurisdiction to suggest so.
On Sunday night, the Uttar Pradesh administration clamped the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on Varun Gandhi.
Naming Mukhtar Ansari from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), who is contesting the polls from Uttar Pradesh, Shourie said, "Everyone knows that he is involved in riots. But the Election Commission has not given any advisory in his case".