Chandigarh Congress spokesperson Rajesh Sharma on Wednesday filed a complaint with the State Election Commission and police, alleging an online portal had posted a fake pre-election survey.
The party said the survey showed that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would win the maximum seats in the Chandigarh civic polls, followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Sharma said publishing a pre-poll survey was a violation of the model code of conduct, the Representation of the People Act and the Indian Penal Code. He said, “Publication of fake pre-poll surveys under the guise of a news portal is a serious offence, intended to influence the voters of the city and diminish the institution of free and fair elections in the country’s democratic set up.”
“We demand immediate and stern legal action, so that false posts are immediately removed from all internet platforms. The source of this fake post should be traced and all people committing such illegal acts should be booked as per the provisions of the law,” he said.
The party also raised concerns over absence of VVPAT (Voter verifiable paper audit trail) with EVM machines on voting day.
“As the MC elections are being conducted without VVPAT, the Congress has serious apprehensions over the fairness of the upcoming corporation elections, especially in view of the fact that the BJP has justified their absence,” said Sharma.
{{/usCountry}}“As the MC elections are being conducted without VVPAT, the Congress has serious apprehensions over the fairness of the upcoming corporation elections, especially in view of the fact that the BJP has justified their absence,” said Sharma.
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