Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday alleged the Delhi Police prevented the screening of a documentary exposing the 'secrets' and 'conspiracies' behind the arrest of his party leaders.
The Election Commission on Monday issued a notice of model code violation to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his reported remarks in poll-bound Goa where he had allegedly promoted bribery and asked him to respond by Wednesday.
The Election Commission on Tuesday censured former Calcutta high court judge and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Abhijit Gangopadhyay for his comment against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and debarred him from campaigning for 24 hours.
Banerjee expressed skepticism about the BJP's ambitious target of achieving 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
The high-octane campaigning for the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections concluded at 6 pm on Monday, with big guns from all three major parties holding roadshows, public meetings, padayatras and bike rallies in a final push to sway voters. The Aam Aadmi Party remains confident of securing a third consecutive term, highlighting its governance record and welfare schemes. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), aiming to reclaim power in Delhi after more than 25 years, held 22 roadshows and rallies across the city. The Congress, seeking a revival after failing to win any seats in the last two elections, also intensified its efforts. The election battle has seen sharp political exchanges, with AI-generated spoofs, catchy slogans, and roadshows dominating the discourse. The outcome of this fiercely contested election will determine whether the AAP continues its dominance, the BJP breaks its losing streak, or Congress makes a surprising comeback. The final verdict will be revealed on February 8, as Delhi awaits the results of what has been one of its most high-stakes electoral battles.
Additionally, the Haryana police and home guard personnel will be deployed for security during the elections, he said.
In a novel initiative aimed at increasing voter turnout in Haryana, the state election commission will send an invitation letter to every family in the state urging them to exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha polls.
The Punjab government dismissed claims that it owned the car intercepted in Delhi. The vehicle's number plate was forged and fake as it can be tracked to a different car not owned by the Punjab government, it said. The AAP, too, released a statement, saying the car seizure was a "planted stunt, ?poorly executed and utterly bogus".
Those complaining to the Election Commission about violation of model election code must keep in mind that right to free speech has not been diluted by the MCC in any way, Jaitley noted.
The leaders will also raise the issue of alleged "use of religious symbols" by the Bharatiya Janata Party in their campaign, they said.
In the notice issued on Sunday, the ECI has notified the main organiser of the 'Auto Rajakanmar Iftar' event, Abubakar Siddique, for violating the election model code of conduct.
The Election Commission on Monday let off Bahujan Samaj Party leader Satish Chandra Mishra with a warning for seeking the votes of Dalit Brahmin families on the ground of caste. After taking a lenient view on Mishra, the commission said it did not intend to pursue further the matter of poll code violation against him. The commission hoped that Mishra would be careful not to violate the model code of conduct in future and would be more careful in his public utterances.
The Election Commission on Saturday issued notice to Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma over his remarks on sub-quota for minorities, holding that prima facie it was a violation of the Model Code of Conduct and sought his reply by Monday evening.
The Gujarat Congress on Monday filed a complaint with the state Election Commission alleging that the Narendra Modi government has violated the model code of conduct for elections.
The final round of voting for the Jharkhand Assembly elections is taking place on Wednesday, with the JMM-Congress-RJD coalition seeking to retain power while the BJP-led NDA aims to take control. The election will decide the fate of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife, and several other candidates. Key issues during the campaign included alleged infiltration from Bangladesh, corruption, and Hindutva.
In remarks that might land him in fresh trouble, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Giriraj Singh questioned the impartiality of the Election Commission on Monday, saying that different yardsticks were being adopted for model code violations.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday responded to the Election Commission notice over his claim the Haryana government was 'mixing poison' in Yamuna, and said raw water received from the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state in the recent past has been 'highly contaminated and extremely poisonous' for human health.
The counsel appearing for the poll panel told a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde that Nath's petition has become infructuous as the campaigning has ended and the voting is on Tuesday.
Justice Sachin Datta said the plea was misconceived and devoid of merits and the ECI can take an independent view on the complaint of the petitioner in accordance with law.
The CEC needs to have powers to disqualify a candidate or impose penalties in the event of any violations, the chief election commissioner said.
The government may come into confrontation with the Election Commission over its attempt to curb the latter's immense authority to almost take over all administration powers through the Model Code of Conduct during the elections.
On a day Ashok Lavasa's decision to recuse from model code of conduct complaints became public, the EC said the 'full commission' would meet on May 21 to discuss the issue of dissent and 'related matters'.
The special court for cases involving MPs and MLAs later ordered their release on probation for a period of six months.
Taking cognisance of their alleged controversial remarks against Narendra Modi and Azam Khan respectively in election speeches, the Election Commission on Thursday issued show cause notices to Union minister Beni Prasad Verma and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vinay Katiyar for prima facie violating the Model Code of Conduct.
The Commission expressed displeasure over the violation by the two leaders and expected that both of them in future would adhere to the salutary provisions of the code in letter and spirit.
Nearly 3,000 polling booths have been identified as sensitive, and special security arrangements, including drone surveillance, have been ensured at some of these locations.
This is the first campaign ban imposed by the poll body in this Lok Sabha election cycle.
Earlier, the BJP governments in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh had announced implementation of the UCC in their states.
The Election Commission of India is likely to hold a final meeting with officials on Monday to announce the poll schedule for legislative assembly elections in Delhi, later in the week.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has sent a legal notice to Shashi Tharoor, accusing the Congress MP of making defamatory statements against him on a TV channel recently.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday embark on a near two-day meditation exercise at the famed Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, and the district has come under a thick security blanket following the high profile event.
The former had been celebrating completion of four years in power while the latter had been distributing school bags embossed with the CM's picture.
The BJP said the former Congress chief's comments during the public meeting were "extremely objectionable" as they are not just in violation of the model code of conduct but could have serious implications.
Singh, in his reply to the EC, said that he had not commented on the model code of conduct, threatened or intimidated election officials during his campaign in Kinnaur. The chief minister said that the allegations were not true. On November 13, the EC had issued a notice to Singh after it received a report that the chief minister had protested the detention of a vehicle with beacon light.
'It is violation of the Model Code of Conduct.' 'It is a penal offence under the IPC to exert undue influence on voters.' 'Under the election law, it is a corrupt practice.'
The party prayed for the removal of the advertisement and action against its authors and publishers.
"It is a fair assumption that INC possesses the material/empirical/verifiable evidence based on which these specific/explicit 'facts' have been published, an action which can fairly be assessed to embed knowledge, motive and intent to do so by the author," the EC notice read.
'A political party taking the law into its hands is objectionable, especially in the context of the 2002 incidents in Gujarat.'
Shah said that the complaint was lodged based on the provisional certificate which he got after receiving the shot at a vaccination centre on Thursday morning.
The EC cited Section 8(1)(g) of the RTI Act exempting the disclosure of information which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes.
