The Delhi state election commission on Wednesday served a showcause notice on Delhi Congress president J.P. Agarwal for allegedly seeking votes on religious ground during a campaign for municipal polls. The commission issued the notice after Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta and senior leader Prof. V.K. Malhotra submitted a memorandum to election commissioner Rakesh Mehta. The BJP leaders demanded action against Mr Agarwal for “violating” election code of conduct by allegedly seeking votes on religious grounds.
“While campaigning in Jama Masjid area Mr Agarwal said that Muslims must not caste their vote to any other party but only to the Congress. The way he said such words was promoting vote on communal basis. Our senior leaders met the election commission officials and complained about the same,” said a BJP office bearer.
The BJP delegation demanded filing of an FIR against Mr Agarwal by the commission for allegedly violating the election code of conduct. The BJP leaders have also submitted the articles and video of the speech of Mr Agarwal to the election commission.
Senior BJP leader and former mayor Arti Mehra alleged that the Congress is making such statements because of the widespread support the BJP is gaining from all communities.
However Mr Agarwal denied all allegations. “I have not received the notice. I have been addressing series of election meetings across the city. I do not remember making such statements as claimed,” he told reporters here.
Meanwhile, a son-in-law of senior BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi joined the Congress on Wednesday, causing embarrassment to the party ahead of the municipal polls, reports PTI. Suresh Kumar, son-in-law of Mukhi, joined the Congress along with a group of supporters, DPCC president J.P. Agarwal said. He said that Kumar was a prominent BJP youth leader in West Delhi.