ECI notice to Atishi over BJP poaching attempt claim
The Election Commission (ECI) has issued a notice to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Atishi following her allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had approached her to join the party. The action was taken in response to a complaint lodged by the BJP days ago, which dismissed Atishi's claims as baseless and demanded a public apology from her. The AAP leader has been given until Saturday by the ECI to substantiate her claims.
Why does this story matter?
At a press conference on April 2, Atishi accused the BJP of threatening her and three other party leaders with arrest unless they switched to the saffron party. According to the minister, the BJP is "targeting" the next line of AAP leadership—Saurabh Bharadwaj, Durgesh Pathak, Raghav Chadha and herself. The revelation came a day after the ED claimed that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had named Atishi and Bharadwaj while being questioned in connection with the excise policy case.
EC notice cites Model Code of Conduct and advisory
In its notice, the ECI said that because she is a minister, people tend to accept what she says in public. As such, if she is questioned, she must be able to back up what she says with facts. "You are hereby called upon to furnish your para-wise response to the matter latest by 17.00 hrs of 6th April," said the ECI. The Model Code of Conduct discourages politicians from making disparaging remarks about rival parties based on unconfirmed accusations.
BJP dismisses Atishi's allegations as groundless
Talking about the alleged threats on Tuesday, Atishi said that a close associate informed her that "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made up his mind to put every AAP leader in jail." In response, BJP leader RP Singh retorted, "I too can make such groundless allegations. I too can say that Saurabh Bharadwaj called me up and requested me to protect them from Kejriwal who wants to put them behind bars and make Sunita Kejriwal the CM."
BJP challenges Atishi to substantiate her claims
Delhi BJP secretary Harish Khurana also responded to Atishi's allegations, stating, "A new day, a new sensational tale; Atishi has once again attempted to stir up media frenzy... It's a challenge, Atishi-ji — provide us with a name or face another police complaint from the BJP." The party said that the AAP was fighting over fears about who would be the next "sacrificial lamb."
