Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 13: Even as the Election Commission of India is claimed to have assured a delegation of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by the former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of holding “deep inquiry” into its allegation of manipulation of the voters’ list by the rival BJP, the Delhi government on Monday was criticised by the DELHI High Court for its delay in addressing the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and discuss the reports in the state Assembly.
“The way you have dragged your feet raises doubts about your bona fides,” the High Court commented and further emphasised, “You should have promptly forwarded the reports to the Speaker and initiated a discussion in the House,” the bench of Justice Sachin Datta said.
“The timeline is clear; you’ve dragged your feet to prevent the session from happening,” the Court further remarked. “The delay in sending the reports to the Lieutenant Governor and your handling of the matter raises doubts about your bona fides,” the court said. The Court pointed out that the Delhi Government should have acted promptly in forwarding the reports to the Speaker.
In response, the Delhi Government questioned how sessions could be held with elections approaching. The court was hearing a petition by seven BJP MLAs regarding the issue of tabling the CAG reports in the Assembly and demanding convening of a special session to discuss the 14 CAG reports and the Delhi Assembly Secretariat in response informed the Court that tabling the CAG reports on city administration in the Assembly would serve no useful purpose, given that its tenure ends in February.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court sought responses from the Delhi Government, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and other respondents regarding the petition. The Delhi Government informed the Court that all 14 reports had been sent to the Speaker. Vijender Gupta, the counsel for the BJP MLAs, argued that as a member of the House, it was his right to receive and debate the reports. He urged the Court to direct the Speaker to convene a special session. However, the Court observed that it could not issue an immediate order to the Speaker and stated that both parties would need to be heard before a decision could be made.
The Delhi Government opposed the petition, labelling it politically motivated and indicated its intention to file a counter-affidavit. Mr Gupta’s counsel countered that the issue was not political but rather about ensuring government accountability, stressing that the matter should be resolved before the election announcements.
During its meeting with the ECI, the Kejriwal-led delegation raised three points, including the alleged manipulation of the voter lists, ahead of the upcoming Delhi assembly election. “We told the Election Commission how in the New Delhi assembly constituency, each BJP MP has given applications for 30 to 40 names to be included in the voter roll,” Mr Kejriwal told media after meeting the poll panel officials.
“The Election Commission assured us that not a single fake voter will be allowed. There will be a deep inquiry about each vote and action, if needed, will be taken,” he said. The AAP has been accusing the BJP of transferring votes from across the country to the New Delhi assembly constituency using the addresses of MPs and ministers who live in the New Delhi constituency.
The BJP leader and union minister Hardeep Singh Puri dismissed the allegations and termed it a “laughable matter.” On Sunday Mr Kejriwal wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner regarding the alleged irregularities in the voter lists. “I write to you with grave concern regarding the repeated attempts by members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to manipulate the voter lists in the New Delhi Assembly constituency in a systematic effort to subvert the integrity of the upcoming election.”
Drawing a parallel with past incidents of “booth capturing at gunpoint”, the former Delhi Chief Minister said, “What is happening in Delhi today is a stark reminder of the days when India used to witness rampant booth capturing at gunpoint. Had BJP’s attempt to fraudulently delete 5,500 genuine votes (5.5 per cent of total voters) and add 13,000 fake votes (13 per cent of existing total voters) succeeded, the New Delhi constituency would have been permanently altered by a staggering 18 per cent votes.”
While speaking to reporters after meeting the Election Commission officials, the AAP chief informed the poll panel has allowed the transfer of the vote of the party’s Patparganj candidate Awadh Ojha from Greater Noida to Delhi. “He will be able to file the nomination papers now. I want to thank the Election Commission for this. Mr Ojha’s candidature depended on the transfer of his vote to Delhi so that he could file the nomination papers.
The third point raised by the delegation, Mr Kejriwal said, was the alleged distribution of bedsheets, shoes, jackets and money by the BJP candidates. “We were told the local district magistrate (DM) has denied these accusations. The bedsheets were distributed in full public view. If the DM can’t see it, it proves his involvement and we have demanded the DM should be suspended,” the AAP convener said. “The Election Commission has assured us that it will probe the matter,” he added.
Mr Kejriwal also said he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding the inclusion of Delhi’s Jats in the Centre’s OBC list. Mr Kejriwal met a delegation of Jat leaders at his residence. The community holds a significant chunk of votes in some of 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi, especially in the outer areas.
“The Jats here are included in Delhi’s OBC list but not in the Centre’s list. Jats from Rajasthan can get admissions in the Delhi University and its colleges, jobs in the AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital and all the central government organisations but not the Jats of Delhi,” Mr Kejriwal said at a press conference.
“The top two leaders of the country — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah — had promised the Jat community of Delhi that they will be given OBC reservation at the central level but the promise remains unfulfilled,” he added. The AAP national convenor said the delegation of Jat leaders, who met him, expressed anger over being “betrayed” by the BJP on the issue of reservation for the last 10 years and the “injustice” done to them. Bottom of Form
He asserted that the AAP “supports the justified demand of the community.”
Hitting back at Mr Kejriwal, the BJP called the demand an “election gimmick.” “For the last 10 years, the government that was in power in Delhi with a complete majority did not raise this issue in the Vidhan Sabha or any public platform…Granting reservations is a subject of the state government,” BJP’s Lok Sabha MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat said.
“Kailash Gahlot, who has left the party, has confirmed that he had told the former Delhi CM 2-3 times about the inclusion of Delhi’s Jaat community in central reservations. One of the main reasons for Delhi’s Jaat community not being included in central reservations is former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s government,” Sehrawat, who belongs to the Jat community, said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who had planned to file her nomination for the upcoming Assembly polls on Monday missed the 3 pm deadline to file her papers because she accompanied the AAP delegation to the Election Commission’s office to raise alleged manipulation of voter lists and will now be filing the papers on Tuesday.
The 43-year-old leader today visited the Giri Nagar Gurdwara at Kalkaji to seek blessings before filing her nomination. She also visited the Kalkaji Temple. Senior party leader Manish Sisodia accompanied her. Ms Atishi then led a roadshow in the Kalkaji constituency she currently represents.
The AAP leader was to reach the district magistrate’s office to file nomination papers. But she went to the Election Commission’s headquarters where top AAP leaders had gathered to raise multiple issues, including alleged manipulation of voter lists.
