EC acts on BJP plaint, issues notice to Kejriwal

The Election Commission (EC) on Saturd­ay issued a notice to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal for alle­gedly violating the poll code by accusing Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Delhi unit chief Satish Upadhyay of having a nexus with power distribution companies in the national capital territory.


Acting on a complaint lodged by Upadhyay, the EC asked Kejriwal to reply to its notice by Tuesday, asking why action should not be taken against him for violation of the model code of conduct that came into effect in Delhi on January 12 with the poll panel announcing the schedule of the Assembly elections.


The AAP chief held a news conference last Wednesday and accused Upadhyay and Delhi BJP general secretary Ashish Sood of holding shares in a company that supplied electricity metres to power distribution companies in the capital. He also accused the BJP of helping power distributing companies.

The BJP’s Delhi unit lodged a complaint with the EC next day, alleging that Kejriwal had “levelled false, baseless and unverified allegations” against Upadhyay and Sood.


Upadhyay also alleged that Kejriwal had accused the BJP of spreading communal tension in Trilokpuri and Nandnagari and of trying to incite violence elsewhere in Delhi.
The poll panel received a report from the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi along with audio-visual recordings of the press conference addressed by Kejriwal.


The EC wrote to Kejriwal that it was prima facie of the view that he has violated the poll code by making the remarks during the press conference on Wednesday.