Not so hand in hand; EC to hear plea for cancellation of Congress party symbol

Just a month before Karnataka goes to poll for Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (EC) has agreed to hear a petition seeking cancellation of Congress party’s ‘palm of hand’ symbol..The petition filed by BJP spokesperson and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay and will be heard by the Deputy Election Commissioner, Chandra Bhushan Kumar on April 18..The Applicant filed this petition before the EC in January this year invoking Article 324 of the Constitution of India which gives the Election Commission autonomy and power to carry out free and fair elections..The Applicant here reasons that since the Congress’s party symbol is an inseverable part of human body, the Congress party leaders are in campaigning and canvassing mode even when the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is put in place..Upadhyay, in his petition also says that the Congress leaders “use ‘Palm of Hand’ to solicit vote for Congress candidate, not only prior to the polling, even on the polling day” and argues that this is a clear violation of the Model Code of Conduct and Section 130 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 which require election campaign and canvassing for votes to stop forty-eight hours ahead of polls..Upadhyay also cites an instance from the past when some Congress leaders and workers were allegedly in violation of the MCC when they raised their palms of hands in the shape of their party symbol during 2007 MCD elections in Delhi but were let off with a warning from the State Election Commission..The applicant highlights that besides the Congress party, no other national or State party symbol is that of a human body part and neither are any of the 75 free symbols of the Election Commission as listed in the Handbook of Symbols available on the EC’s website..Upadhyay also states that the Congress party has previously contested elections with different party symbols allotted to it by the EC like ‘Pair of bullock carrying yoke’ and ‘cow and calf’..Upadhyay has prayed for withdrawal and cancellation of Congress’s symbol with immediate effect stating that “free and fair election in spirit of Article 324 of the Constitution is inconceivable” if the ‘palm of hand’ symbol is not cancelled..Read the petition below.