The Haryana unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday submitted a complaint with the chief electoral officer (CEO) against former chief minister (CM) and Karnal Lok Sabha candidate Manohar Lal Khattar for alleged violation of the model code of conduct.
The party delegation led by its senior vice president Anurag Dhanda met CEO Anurag Agarwal in Chandigarh to submit the complaint and discuss other issues as well.
Giving reference of Khattar’s video byte following the bus accident in Mahendragarh, the party has alleged that the former CM, without holding any position, is giving statements, which is a poll code violation.
“Manohar Lal has been giving statements at the behest of the state government without any authority as if he is still the head of the state government and acting as ‘fake chief minister’. We strictly object to this as a clear violation of model code of conduct and no one be permitted to act in such irresponsible manner on such a sensitive issue only to gain unreasonable political mileage,” the complaint reads.
Speaking to HT, Dhanda said they have also submitted a video clip of the statement which shows how Khattar was discussing matters like providing compensation, conducting an investigation, taking strict action against the culprits and giving instructions to doctors.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking to HT, Dhanda said they have also submitted a video clip of the statement which shows how Khattar was discussing matters like providing compensation, conducting an investigation, taking strict action against the culprits and giving instructions to doctors.
{{/usCountry}}“He is trying to gain electoral advantage by portraying himself as the CM. His habit of not letting go of his nine-year-old position is evident. He is not only disrespecting the constitutional post but also disrespecting his successor Nayab Saini,” Dhanda said.
In a statement later, the party said Khattar’s statements are beyond his jurisdiction and he has no control over the state’s medical administration, nor does he have any control over the administration, and he doesn’t have any political power either.
Dhanda said they also discussed the Kaithal incident, wherein their request for a political event was rejected with abusive language used in it.
Following the incident, four men were arrested and the assistant returning officer (ARO) was shunted out. The AAP had earlier demanded action against the returning officer (RO) as well.
“We highlighted that those arrested were all contractual employees. It was submitted that such employees are working in all the district election offices and are mostly BJP workers. We suggested deputing permanent employees for election duties, so that if any incident happens, there is a sense of fear among them and polls are conducted in a fair manner,” Dhanda added.
Dhanda further said after the meeting, the party is satisfied that the probe in the matter is progressing in the right direction by the Election Commission.