New Delhi:
The Election Commission has censured Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid for his minority remarks and says he violated the election code of conduct. The Commission says Mr Khurshid violated the model code of conduct by making a promise of a nine per cent sub-quota for minorities and that it expects him not to repeat such violations.
The poll panel said that Mr Khurshid being the Law Minister should have been more careful and set an example for others.
(Read the Election Commission's full order)
The Election Commission had earlier this month issued a show cause notice to Mr Khurshid.
In his answer to a show-cause notice issued for a speech that promised a nine per cent sub-quota for minorities in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Khurshid had defended his speech saying that a minority quota exists in the Congress manifesto released in 2009 for the Lok Sabha polls and that he has only merely quoted the manifesto.
The minister is said to have told the poll panel that he only used the word "minority" and did not specify any caste or community so the statement does not directly violate any provisions in the poll code. "The actual election process has not started in Uttar Pradesh and that there is no declared candidate or party candidate so there is no violation of the model code; it was only a general statement given at the rally," he has reportedly added in his reply.