Alleging open violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by BJP supporters in Delhi, the AAP, on Tuesday, accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the police of targeting those who file complaints instead.
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, in a joint press conference with the AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak, recounted how BJP members violated the MCC in the Kalkaji, Jangpura, and Rajinder Nagar constituencies on Monday night.
She even accused the police of assaulting two youths for filming the violation of MCC in Kalkaji. Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak said when a complaint was filed against the violations, the police registered an FIR against the chief minister, the AAP candidate from the constituency.
In a strong reaction to the development, Arvind Kejriwal wrote in a post on social media platform X, “So now, this is the official stance of the Delhi Police and the Election Commission. Their ‘job’ is to act as hooligans against the Aam Aadmi Party, protect BJP’s hooliganism, and facilitate the distribution of alcohol, money, and goods. If anyone tries to stop them from doing this ‘job’, they will be booked for obstructing police and Election Commission operations.”
Invoking the past glory of the poll panel, Sisodia recalled the former election commission T N Seshan, whose name, he said, had become synonymous with free and fair elections. He lamented that under Rajiv Kumar’s leadership, the ECI appears to have handed over the responsibility of contesting elections to the BJP.
Sharpening his attack on the ECI further, he said in Delhi, the elections are not being fought by the BJP but the ECI.
He alleged that women activists were being threatened with acid attacks and voter ID cards are being forcibly taken away from slum dwellers. He said the poll has lost its credibility as it is protecting BJP’s hooligans and registering FIRs against complainants.
During the silence period after the campaigning ended at 6 pm on Monday, , Atishi said her party was informed that some people, associated with BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri, were threatening slum dwellers at night. “On reaching there, we found Dinesh Chaudhary from Sangam Vihar whose GPS-tagged photos were taken at Bal Mukund Khand, Giri Nagar at 11:30 pm. At my instance, the returning officer and the DCP arrived there and took him away. However, we found out that the police let him off without taking any action,” she alleged.