Jitu Vaghani gets Surat DEO's clean chit

State BJP president Jitu Vaghani's use of abusive words to target the Congress did not violate the model code of conduct, Surat collector and district election officer said in a report to the Election Commission.

"We have examined the issue, and have reported that there was no violation of model code of conduct. We have submitted a report to the Chief Electoral Officer," Surat collector and district election officer Dr Dhaval Patel told DNA.
CEO S Murali Krishna confirmed that he had received the report.

"We have received the report, and are examining it. We will be able to share more details tomorrow," he said.

Vaghani had stirred a controversy when he used an abusive word for the opposition party during an election rally in Surat on Sunday.

"I am telling the Congress, you cannot win, so you are trying to spread hatred and create chaos. One such incident has occurred but if second such incident takes place, we can throw you out of Surat. I want to tell people of the state to recognise those... their intentions are not clean, they want to harass people," he had said.

Vaghani later claimed that he had used the abusive words for Congress leaders like Mohammad Surti, a former minister who was convicted for his involvement in 1993 Surat bomb blast case.

The CEO had taken suo motu cognizance of media reports of the speech, and directed the Surat collector to conduct an inquiry. A report was submitted to him on Wednesday, but he had sought more details, which were submitted on Thursday.