A day before Delhi went to polls AAP and Congress candidates were caught in an ugly spat and complained against each other to the Election Commission.
It all started in the morning with AAP candidate Ashutosh tweeting about Congress candidate Kapil Sibal allegedly distributing cash to woo voters in the Chandni Chowk constituency.
"We have filed a written complaint to the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi and the Election Commission. Kapil Sibal is trying desperately to get votes through such means," said Ashutosh.
Prompted by the tweets, Sibal filed a complaint against Ashutosh and asked the Election Commission to take strict action against him. A notice was issued by the Returning Officer (RO) to Ashutosh asking him to explaint the allegations made by him. "The RO has asked Ashutosh to explain the allegations made against the candidate and he should provide evidence too. If he does not have any evidence why did he make the allegations? At the same time, he used the electronic means (social media) and targeted a candidate which is not allowed in the last 48 hours," said a senior official.
"I have filed a complaint against Ashutosh as the allegations are baseless and are also a violation of the model code of conduct. What proof does he have? This is then becomes a part of campaigning and considering campaigning is not allowed 48 hours before the poll, it is a violation of model code of conduct and action should be taken against him," Sibal told HT.
{{/usCountry}}"I have filed a complaint against Ashutosh as the allegations are baseless and are also a violation of the model code of conduct. What proof does he have? This is then becomes a part of campaigning and considering campaigning is not allowed 48 hours before the poll, it is a violation of model code of conduct and action should be taken against him," Sibal told HT.
{{/usCountry}}However, in the official complaint filed by AAP they have alleged that party workers were distributing cash. "This is to inform you that our volunteers have seen envelopes containing cash being distributed by the Congress party workers April 8 evening, in the areas of Ballimaran assembly constituency on behalf of Kapil Sibal. This is a blatant case of bribery under section 171 E of IPC and gross violation of model code of conduct," AAP complaint read.