Poster war: BJP moves EC against AAP

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 31

Ahead of the Jalandhar by-election, the AAP and the BJP have been actively engaged in a fierce battle over posters put up by members of the Aam Aadmi Party in Jalandhar on Thursday.

After some AAP leaders put up the anti-Modi ‘Modi Hatao Desh Bachao’ posters yesterday and some BJP leaders tore them off late last evening, the BJP today wrote to the Election Commission, dubbing the poster campaign by the Aam Aadmi Party a violation of the poll code of conduct.

The BJP has sought an FIR against AAP leaders and called for their immediate removal.

Party leaders also submitted a memorandum and a complaint to SDM I Jalandhar, Maj Dr Shivraj Singh Ball, on the issue today.

AAP cabinet minister Harbhajan Singh ETO, MLA Raman Arora and leader Atam Parkash Babloo, had on Thursday hosted a press meet and put up the anti-Modi posters in Jalandhar. It was part of the pan-India poster campaign by the AAP, launched following the registration of FIRs against over 100 people in Delhi where AAP had stuck similar posters.

Hours after the posters were put up in Jalandhar, the senior BJP leadership of the city visited the spots where the posters were put up late in the evening and tore them off, raising ‘Modi Apnao Desh Bachao’ and ‘AAP Murdabad’ slogans.

The BJP leaders this morning handed a complaint in this regard to the SDM. Former MLA KD Bhandari, Sarabjit Makkar, Ashok Sareen Hickey, District President Sushil Sharma, Amarjit Singh Goldy, Amit Taneja, among others, were present on the occasion.

District president Sushil Sharma has written to the Election Commission of India, the State Election Commission, the Jalandhar DC and the returning officer of the Jalandhar constituency, demanding action against the accused AAP leaders today, for the alleged violation of the code of conduct.

The BJP’s letter to the EC slams how AAP leaders have “openly violated the code of conduct and wrongfully used their public posts” by conducting a press conference and putting up anti-Modi posters in public.

The BJP stated, “All these accused (sic) are either of state government or are associated with Aam Admi Party which is in power in the state.” The party also accused the minister and MLA Raman Arora of violating the code of conduct by holding a press conference on the issue and publicising the putting up of posters. The BJP letter states, that the AAP leaders carried out the “illegal activity” without any “authority” under the nose of the administration for more than an hour to influence voters and no action was taken.

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