The Election Commission on Thursday barred BJP leaders Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma from campaigning in the Delhi polls for 72 hours and 96 hours respectively for making inflammatory statements while campaigning for the polls.
Both the leaders will also remain out from the list of BJP star campaigners for the upcoming Delhi polls, the EC said.
The duo were under the scanner of EC after making shocking statements during separate poll rallies for the Delhi polls.
According to EC orders, the ban on the leaders will be effective from 5 pm on Thursday.
The orders came after the Union Minister of State Anurag Thakur and Member of Parliament Parvesh Verma submitted their responses against the ‘showcause’ notice issued to them by EC on January 28. The EC had also refused their requests of personal hearing on the matter.
On Tuesday, the Delhi Election Office had submitted its report to the Election Commission on the alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct by the two leaders.
Anurag Thakur was under the scanner of Election Commission for his rally in Rithala in North West Delhi during which he can be seen prompting “desh ke gaddaron ko…” to which the crowd responded “…goli maaro s***n ko”.
Later on being asked about who he believed were the traitors who need to be shot down, he told reporters, “First you should watch the entire video, then you should see the mood of the people of Delhi.”
Parvesh Verma who is also an MP from West Delhi making shocking accusations against the protesters at Shaheen Bagh, said: “They will enter your houses, rape your sisters and daughters”.
He had allegedly said that mosques and graveyards have come up in over 500 government properties in the national capital including hospitals and schools.
Terming the structures as ‘illegal structures’, he said they came upon the lands which belong to Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Jal Board and others.
This is the second time in the Delhi poll campaign that BJP leaders were banned from campaigning. Earlier, BJP candidate from Model Town constituency was also banned for 48 hours from campaigning for his controversial tweets.