BJP Calls on EC to Halt Congress's Guarantee Outreach Campaign, Alleges Bribery by the Party

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused the Congress of engaging in corrupt practices, amounting to bribery, through its 'Ghar Ghar Guarantee' outreach program. The BJP has requested the Election Commission (EC) to halt this program.

In its memorandum to the EC, the BJP stated that the initiative, unveiled on April 3 by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, involves party workers distributing "guarantee cards" to households. These cards are presented as application papers for accessing the benefits promised by the party.

The BJP further noted that these cards bear the promissory signatures of prominent Indian National Congress leaders, namely Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, as an official endorsement. The BJP alleges that this amounts to manipulation of voters' trust and misrepresentation of guarantee cards as valid instruments for accessing promised "freebies, largesse, and utopian promises".

The BJP argued that allowing such practices openly contradicts the principles of free and fair elections. It sets a precedent where only registered political supporters may be entitled to government schemes, excluding others.

Citing the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the BJP stated that such a campaign by the opposition party constitutes corrupt practices and bribery. The party also called for the registration of criminal cases against Congress members distributing the cards.

The BJP pointed out that this campaign is similar to another "surrogate campaign" by the Congress during the Rajasthan Assembly polls last year, which aimed to bribe and mislead voters. The EC had taken a "serious view" of the matter at that time, according to the BJP.

In another complaint, the BJP urged the poll watchdog to transfer and immediately relieve several "politically-aligned" officers, including the chief secretary and the DGP, in Andhra Pradesh, where the Assembly election is being held alongside the Lok Sabha polls. The party made several other demands for free and fair polls in the southern state.