Probe ordered into Shruti Choudhry’s elephant ride for campaigning

On a complaint against the Congress leader, the Haryana chief electoral officer has asked the Mahendergarh district administration to inquire the incident.

An inquiry has been initiated against Congress nominee from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency, Shruti Choudhry, for riding an elephant for campaigning in Narnaul on Thursday.

The move by the commission had come on request of various NGOs, including PETA, citing torture to animals during election campaigning. (HT)

On a complaint against the Congress leader, the Haryana chief electoral officer has asked the Mahendergarh district administration to inquire the incident.

Mahendergarh deputy commissioner Garima Mittal said based on the communique, the officials have conducted the inquiry and sent a report to returning officer Bhiwani and further action was awaited.

She clarified that no notice had been issued to Choudhry as of now.

Notably, the Election Commission in its new manual of model code of conduct issued last month imposed a blanket ban on the use of animals for any type of campaigning in the elections.

The move by the commission had come on request of various NGOs, including PETA, citing torture to animals during election campaigning.