AAP to approach EC over ‘derogatory’ posts by BJP

The development came a day after EC issued a notice to Arvind Kejriwal regarding posts made from AAP’s official X handle.

The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday said it will approach the Election Commission (EC) against the “misleading and derogatory” social media campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

AAP leader Raghav Chadha. (HT)

The development came a day after EC issued a notice to AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal regarding posts made from AAP’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle.

EC on Tuesday issued a showcause notice to AAP over two posts, terming them “derogatory... disparaging” and said they built a “slanderous narrative” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Member of Parliament Raghav Chadha in a press conference said that AAP’s posts were made on November 8 in response to the original posts made by BJP handles on November 5. However, AAP received a showcause notice from EC and the party hoped the action would be taken against the BJP as well.

Acting on a complaint filed by the BJP on November 10, EC said it was “prima facie of the view that the tweets (posts)… violate the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct”.

Chanda alleged that posts against Kejriwal were made by office bearers of the party and extensively promoted on BJP’s official social media handles in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and MP. “A post made on the Delhi BJP’s platform was shared in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and MP. All three states are undergoing state assembly elections, and the Model Code of Conduct is in effect. Despite this, they released this content and broadcasted it on numerous WhatsApp numbers,” he added.

“The response to this notice is being prepared by the legal cell of AAP, and we will submit our response soon. Unfortunately, AAP received a notice, but BJP did not receive any such notice. We hope that after the complaint, BJP will also be sent a notice and questions will be asked,” said Chadha.

Delhi BJP Spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor responded and said it was wrong to hold the BJP responsible for Kejriwal’s “image loss”. “AAP leaders like Raghav Chadha should note that Kejriwal skipping pre-poll commitments, corruption and nepotism are responsible for his image loss... Kejriwal raised an anti-corruption campaign and spoke against nepotism in political parties but today his government is known for scams,” said Kapoor.