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Delhi poll: DM rejects Rithala Congress candidate's allegation of ‘attack’ by poll officials
Congress called the alleged incident an "unprecedented and illegal act" and accused the AAP of being “desperate” to stop the growing support for Sushant Mishra.
Northwest Delhi District Magistrate refuted the Congress party's allegations that its Rithala assembly seat candidate Sushant Mishra was “attacked and injured” by a poll official from the Election Commission of India (ECI) and stopped from carrying out a foot march.
“We (Congress) were taking out a padyatra with permission. Suddenly Election Commission officials came there who did not introduce themselves at that time. Hiding their identity, they tried to stop our march,” Mishra had alleged.
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"This is a very sad incident. We have complained about the matter and the complaint has also been given to the Election Commission," he added.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh had termed the alleged attack as “unprecedented and illegal” and accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of “desperation” to stop Mishra's candidature and the growing support for the party among voters.
“Sushant Mishra has been actively raising cases of violations of the Model Code of Conduct by other candidates in the Delhi Assembly elections. This is clearly a case of partisan behaviour by an officer of a constitutional body like the Election Commission,” read a post by the Congress leader on X.
“But we are not afraid. We will continue to raise the voice of the people and protect the sanctity of our elections,” he added.
DM cites ‘violation’
The DM said that the Flying Squad Teams (FST) and election officials are performing their duties “fairly and impartially to ensure a level playing field”.
“Regarding claims of disagreement or partiality, the team confirms that no such matter occurred and the FST team operated in unbiased manner. Further, when asked for the campaign permission, the organizers initially did not respond but discussed among themselves for 10-15 minutes before dispersing,” the DM stated.
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The official said that permission cited by Ramesh in his social media post was only for door-to-door canvassing from the area A-953, Friends Properties, Budh Vihar Phase-2 to Gali No 15, whereas the party members were campaigning in Gali no 25, and beyond the permitted time.
“The campaigning was taking place in Gali No. 25, which was not covered under the stated permission. Additionally, the permission from the police authorities (Permission Cell) indicated campaigning was allowed only until 6:00 PM, but the activity continued beyond this time when the FST team requested the permission copy,” the DM stated in his reply.
He also claimed that the Congress party members did not produce necessary documents when demanded but only discussed among themselves and dispersed.
(With agency inputs)
