Delhi BJP urges EC to act against AAP govt in Delhi for violating model code of conduct

The Delhi unit of the BJP Tuesday accused the AAP and the Congress of violating the model code of conduct and sought action against them. Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta urged the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi to ensure that strict action is taken to discourage frequent violations of the code.

He alleged that the Congress has released a "highly objectionable video" on its Twitter handle on March 22, in which they had used "abusive language for the prime minister". "The video is full of lies, distortions; half-truth and a tell-tale sign of the low levels Congress is ready to stoop to mislead the public. The use of abusive language is done in the video and it should have no place in the process of elections in a democratic set up," he said, adding that he lodged a complaint with the Delhi poll body.

On Monday, Gupta had lodged a complaint with the office of Delhi chief electoral officer over Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's letters "aimed at winning voters highlighting the achievements of the Delhi Jal Board" addressed to consumers that were supposed to be sent along with water bills.

"The letter mentions neither the date nor dispatch number. This is gross violation of government rules as no letter can be sent without these particulars. But Kejriwal has cunningly tried to bypass this rule to escape CEC scrutiny," he alleged.

He claimed that more than 26 lakh copies of the letters were printed with the chief minister's letterhead. "DJB Narela Office was raided by a team from the office of CEO to seize publicity material on my complaint lodged yesterday," Gupta said.

Delhi CEO Ranbir Singh said he had spoken to chief executive officer of Delhi Jal Board who had categorically assured him that there will be no misuse of government offices for circulating political messages. "On Monday, a delegation of BJP had approached me and said Delhi CM has written individualised letters to voters that will be distributed to DJB consumers and they had shared pictures of the letters lying at Narela DJB office.

"I had a word with the CEO of DJB and told him that it is your duty to ensure that there is no violation of model code of conduct and the government offices should not be used to deliver messages with political overtones," he said. Meanwhile, an EC's flying squad team of the area under which Narela falls got information about the letters on Monday evening and visited the DJB Narela Office and sealed the room where the letters were kept, Singh added.

Gupta said the if the Congress and the AAP formed an alliance, it would be "the biggest example of political opportunism". "The origin of the AAP was as the biggest rival of the Congress and was intended to stop them. The coalition between the AAP and the Congress is to create panic about the BJP among the minorities of Delhi and divide the people of Delhi on the communal lines at the cost of harmony and peace," he alleged.