The Election Commission said on Thursday it has found a "clear-cut" violation of its instructions by Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar, who allegedly threatened to put the poll panel in jail for two days, and made it clear that he will be charged for his statement.
Mr Ambedkar, a three-time Member of Parliament, earlier on Thursday criticised the EC for not allowing political parties speak on the February 14 Pulwama terrorist attack.
"We have lost 40 soldiers but still sitting quietly. We have been asked to not speak on the Pulwama attack. How can the EC gag us?
"Our Constitution has given us the right to speak. I am not BJP. If voted to power, we will jail the Election Commission for two days," Mr Ambedkar said during a rally in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra.
Deputy Election Commissioner Chandra Bhushan Kumar told reporters the panel has received a report from the district election officer and he "confirmed this statement in his report".
"This is a clear-cut violation of our instructions," Mr Kumar said.
He said political leaders and people's representatives should exercise "caution" when speaking on "sensitive" subjects.
A case will be registered against Mr Ambedkar under an appropriate law, Mr Kumar said.
He said a detailed report has also been sought from the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer on this episode.
In another election rally in Nanded on Wednesday, Mr Ambedkar claimed the banknotes scrapped by the PM Modi government in November 2016 will be remonetised if he is elected.
The grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Solapur and Akola constituencies in Maharashtra as a candidate of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) - an alliance of Ambedkar-led Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh and Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM.
The VBA is contesting all 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Maharashtra will go to polls in four phases, starting on April 11 and concluding on April 29. The second and third phase of polling will be held on April 18 and 23.
