JOIN USThe Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday said that it is essential for the Election Commission (EC) to order Amit Shah to leave Uttar Pradesh (UP) till polls are over.
“The AAP demands that the EC should immediately order Shah to leave UP and should not be allowed to enter the state till voting is over. Any delay on the EC’s part would raise fresh questions over its impartiality,” the party said in a statement on Monday.
“It is shocking that the EC appears to have been cowed down before the provocative statements being given by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. It is unexplainable how the EC revoked the ban on Shah and allowed him to continue his campaign in UP, after accepting his apology and despite knowing his track record,” it added.
“The latest statement by Shah, branding Azamgarh as a terror hub, is a clear indication that he does not care about any Constitutional authority in the country and it is for the EC to tell the country on what basis it has allowed such a controversial person to continue with his campaign in UP,” it said.
The AAP said the EC’s ineffectiveness in dealing with continued hate speeches by Shah and open defiance of election laws by Modi can have serious repercussions in the conduct of free and fair elections in the country
The party alleged that the EC has also failed to take any action against TV news channels, which for monetary gains and in a bid to please the BJP are continuing the telecast of opinion polls. Such opinion polls are a clear violation of the provisions of the Representation of People’s Act.
“BJP released its manifesto on April 7, when polling in north-eastern parts of the country had already begun,” it added.