New Delhi: Calling it “spineless”, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday alleged that the Election Commission had “completely surrendered” before Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kejriwal’s remarks came in response to reports of people allegedly visiting polling booths with party symbols and also campaigning on social media and TV on polling day.
“Election Commission has completely surrendered before Modiji, just like the CBI and the RBI,” Kejriwal tweeted.
“This is a completely shameless and spineless Election Commission.”
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader has repeatedly targeted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for acting on the directions of the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Just like Modiji destroyed the RBI, he has also destroyed the Election Commission by appointing his cronies in the Commission,” Kejriwal said.
He has been at loggerheads with the Election Commission ever since it pulled him up for asking voters in Goa to “accept money from other political parties but vote only for the AAP”.
Kejriwal accused the EC of acting at the behest of the Prime Minister’s Office.
An FIR was filed against him last month on directions from the Election Commission.
He asked the poll panel to file an FIR with the “same urgency” against Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Congress leader Amarinder Singh for making similar remarks in Goa and Punjab respectively.
Kejriwal on Saturday also asked why voting in Goa started an hour before Punjab when it is slated to stop at the same time.
“As per Election Commission notification, polling time in Goa [is] from 7am to 5pm but in Punjab, it is from 8am to 5pm [one hour less]. Why?”
Kejriwal also slammed Modi for his November 8 demonetisation move and said it had failed to curb black money.
“Modiji had said that the note ban will put an end to black money. But it is being openly distributed in Punjab and Goa. Then what was the use of the note ban,” Kejriwal asked.
