After Hema Malini’s comment, Randeep Surjewala was placed on EC notice, and Mallikarjun Kharge demanded a list of actions done

In reaction to his alleged inflammatory statements against BJP MP Mathura and actress Hema Malini, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala was served a show-cause notice by the Election Commission on Tuesday. The commission requested that Surjewala respond to the notice by the evening of April 11.

In a separate letter, the EC referred to the comments as “undignified, vulgar, and uncivilized” and asked Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to respond by April 12 with information about the steps the party had taken to guarantee strict adherence to its recommendations regarding women’s honor and dignity in public discourse.

The letter sent to Kharge also included alleged offensive remarks made by Congress spokeswoman Supriya Shrinate about Hindi film star and BJP contender for the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, Kangana Ranaut.

The EC served Surjewala with a show-cause notice on the heels of a complaint it received on April 5 alleging that he had made “sexist, vulgar, and unethical public utterances against the dignity of BJP MP Hema Malini, while campaigning in Haryana, which are violative of the provisions of the model code… the comments have heaped insult on all women legislators and women in public life or otherwise and have caused great insult to Hema Malini.”

The EC requested a response from Surjewala by 5 p.m. on April 11 and urged him to explain why no action should be taken against him.

Following its earlier strong censure of Shrinate for her allegedly anti-Ranaut remarks, the EC said in a separate letter to Kharge that he ought to have issued a specific advisory to party functionaries involved in election campaigns and in public domain interactions, directing them not to commit such violations.

But in light of Surjewala’s “undignified utterances,” “it is unfortunate that the Congress campaigners are still indulging in utterances that are repugnant to the honor and dignity of women, despite the commission bringing it to the notice of the party at your level.”

In light of this, the EC instructed Kharge to report to it by April 12 the steps the party has taken to guarantee strict adherence to its recommendations on the honor and dignity of women during public debate.

The European Commission wrote to the president of Congress, saying, “At this stage the EC wishes to reiterate and you will agree that election campaign cannot be allowed to become a platform for any kind of dishonour to women.”