Twitter war and controversial temple visit heat up UP assembly by-polls
As the assembly by-election dates approach in Uttar Pradesh, a Twitter war has erupted between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the BJP to woo their respective vote banks.
Days after a group of journalists of the Press Club in Leh accused the BJP of attempting to bribe them in a bid to get favourable news coverage for the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat which went to the polls on May 6, a purported CCTV footage has surfaced online showing BJP leaders offering bribe to Leh reporters.
In the clip, BJP legislative council member Vikram Randhawa is seen handing out envelopes to the reporters in the presence of state BJP chief Ravinder Raina who is seen shaking hands with the journos.
The Press Club in Leh had filed a complaint with the Election Commission in the matter. It had also lodged complaints with district election officer Avny Lavasa as well as the police.
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In the complaint, they said, “We, the undersigned members of the Press Club Leh, would like to lodge a complaint regarding the press conference organised by BJP at Hotel Singay Palace on 2 May 2019 around 2 pm. After the press conference was over, BJP leaders, including state president Ravinder Raina and MLC Vikram Randhawa, tried to bribe the media persons by offering us money in envelopes in an attempt to use our platform to influence the outcome of elections. We didn’t accept the offer and rejected it outright and we showed our anguish at their attempt”.
District election officer Avny Lavasa, who ordered the inquiry, according to a report in Indian Express, said that the allegations were found prima facie correct.
“We wrote to police to file either an FIR or a complaint,” Lavasa said, adding that the police filed a complaint and put it up before the court on Tuesday. However, the court has not issued any order so far.
Meanwhile, the BJP has denied the allegations.
State BJP chief, Ravinder Raina had on Sunday threatened to initiate defamation proceedings against the journalists if they did not issue a written apology for “defaming” the BJP.
The BJP candidate, Jamyang Namgyal, is fighting an intense battle with the Congress heavy-weight Rigzin Spalbar for the seat.
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