EC bans Congress MP Randeep Surjewala from campaigning for 48 hours over remark against Hema Malini | Latest News India

The Election Commission on Tuesday barred Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala from campaigning for 48 hours over his alleged remark against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Hema Malini.

The poll panel’s decision comes after it had issued showcause notices to both Surjewala and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over the MP’s remark against the BJP MP from Mathura.

In a video shared by the BJP on social media, Surjewala was heard saying, “Why people elect their MLAs/MPs? So that they (MLAs/MPs) can raise the public’s voice. It’s not like Hema Malini, who was elected to lick.”

The alleged remark kicked up a storm in the poll season, with the BJP calling it a ‘new low to disrespect and demean the dignity of women’. 

The Election Commission had sought reply from Surjewala by April 9. According to the poll panel, the Congress leader claimed that the “video cited by the complainant allegedly containing unforesaid utterances was a doctored video.”