Poll panel approves AAP’s campaign song

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 6

The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) campaign song ‘Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se’ was approved by the Election Commission of India (ECI) without any changes on Monday, said senior party leader Dilip Pandey.

‘Did not yield to pressure from BJP’

We did not yield to the pressure from the BJP nor accepted any objections raised by the commission. In the song, we express our intent to counter the practice of incarcerating leaders of the Opposition parties with the power of our votes. What could be more democratic than this? — Dilip Pandey, senior AAP leader

The Election Commission had initially banned the song, which contained references to ‘Tanashahi’ (dictatorship) and ‘Gundagardi’ (hooliganism), prompting the BJP to complain to the commission about the use of unparliamentary language.

Pandey noted that the Election Commission had banned AAP’s campaign song on April 27, acknowledging the BJP-led Central Government as a dictatorship. He emphasised, “We did not yield to the pressure from the BJP, and as a result, the EC granted permission for our campaign song. We did not accept any objections raised by the commission, but instead questioned the objections themselves.”

The senior AAP leader said the BJP government was misusing all constitutional institutions and murdering the democratic values of the country. The Election Commissioner on April 27 had written a letter banning the campaign song of AAP, expressing several objections to it.

Pandey said, “In the song, we express our intent to counter the practice of incarcerating leaders of Opposition parties with the power of our votes. What could be more democratic than this? It’s amusing when the Election Commission labels it as an attack on the judiciary. There is no greater democratic tool than the vote. We aim to challenge the BJP’s authoritarianism through the power of votes, yet the Election Commission is interjecting the judiciary into the matter.”

He went on to criticise the Election Commissioner’s assertion that implying harm to the dictatorial party in the song could incite violence. “The commission’s understanding of Hindi seems limited, as it equates injury solely with violence. Hurt can encompass feelings, dignity, governance issues and hooliganism, yet the Election Commission’s comprehension is confined. Furthermore, it wrongly associates it with the ruling party,” he added.

The AAP reiterated its stance that the BJP undermines democracy, citing the example of the Surat constituency where Congress candidates’ nominations, along with their substitutes, were rejected. The rejection, purportedly due to the BJP’s opposition claiming the proposer’s signatures were not genuine, led to a series of other candidates either having their nominations rejected or withdrawn, ultimately clearing the path for BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal to be declared the winner.

“We haven’t altered a single word of our election campaign song. We didn’t yield to the Election Commission’s dictatorship or the BJP’s malicious intentions. The outcome of this stands as a victory for democracy and truth,” he asserted.

He appealed to the people of Delhi and the nation, warning that a wrong vaccine jeopardises lives just as incorrect voting endangers the Constitution.

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