A controversial letter sent out by Punjab additional chief electoral officer DPS Kharbanda asking political parties not to play the video clip of former AAP member Kumar Vishwas’s statement against AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, on any media platform, was withdrawn by the Punjab CEO’s office within hours on Thursday.
The letter, sources was sent out by the additional CEO without the knowledge of the Election Commission and was reportedly not approved by the state CEO either.
The EC has taken a serious view of the matter and may take action against the additional CEO who issued the letter.
About AAP
The bizarre development came on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought up Vishwas’s statement, saying how a “former close aide” of Kejriwal had levelled a dangerous allegation against the latter.
“These people want to break Punjab and the country.
They are ready to join hands with separatists to get power.
Their agenda is not different from the agenda of the country’s enemies and Pakistan,” PM Modi said while addressing a public meeting in Punjab.
Interestingly, it is not MCMC’s brief or purpose to restrain the parties or media from playing any video clip.
It is only meant to give prior clearance to content of parties’ ad-campaigns in the media during polls.
On Thursday, Punjab CEO S Karuna Raju said the letter has been “completely and comprehensively” withdrawn with immediate effect.
He said restraining any party from broadcasting or playing any content on media platforms was not the job of the election authorities. “The language used was completely wrong. The letter went out inadvertently.
I ordered its withdrawal within two hours after taking note of it,” he said.
After Vishwas’s interview to ANI started circulating on media platforms, AAP co-incharge Raghav Chadha had raised objections.
AAP also filed a complaint with the CEO’s office saying that the video was published by Vishwas with other parties to execute vested political interests and was being exploited by Congress by sharing on various media platforms.
The party further alleged that Vishwas’s “provocative and communally divisive” interview was maliciously manufactured and was being “circulated in collusion with disruptive elements” to defame Kejriwal and promote communal hatred with an intent to create unrest and disharmony across Punjab and disrupt free and fair elections.
