The Aam Aadmi Party has sought an urgent appointment with the Election Commission of India to ensure a level playing field in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
AAP Leader announced on Saturday, claiming that despite I.N.D.I.A flagging the issue of misuse of central agencies by the government, Income Tax conducted a raid on one of the AAP MLAs. She further claimed that AAP’s office had been sealed in the national capital.
.@AamAadmiParty has sought an urgent appointment with the Election Commission, to ensure a level playing field in the Lok Sabha elections.
Despite the representation made yesterday, today @AamAadmiParty office was sealed. Lok Sabha candidates and party leaders could not come to… pic.twitter.com/cqb6V8QTSM
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) March 23, 2024
The Income Tax Department (IT) is currently conducting searches at the premises of Delhi AAP MLA Gulab Singh Yadav today. Gulab Singh Yadav represents the AAP as the MLA from Delhi’s Matiala seat, having been elected twice.
In response to the recent arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the INDIA bloc submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission of India on Friday, urging the Commission to intervene in what they perceive as the “targeting of opposition leaders” by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party through the “misuse of central agencies.”
The representation to the ECI was made by Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal, Abhishek Singhvi, NCP (SCP) leader Jitendra Awhad, CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury, TMC MP Derek O Brien, and several other leaders.
The INDIA bloc’s memorandum urges the Election Commission to ensure that any future raids, investigations, and arrests are first vetted and approved by the Commission or a committee established under its authority.
“Take any other steps necessary to ensure the constitutional mandate of a level playing field and to prevent political parties in power from misusing the State machinery against the leaders and political parties contesting elections in a democratic setup,” the memorandum submitted to the poll body read.
Additionally, it calls on the Election Commission to promptly initiate actions such as launching investigations against individuals and officials who have allegedly abused their positions to target opposition leaders
