NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday alleged that its social media post aimed to shed light on the BJP’s electoral bond ‘scandal’ was promptly taken down from X by the Election Commission (EC), leaving no space to the AAP to inform people on it. This decision by the poll body, the party said, suggests that the EC is acting as an “extended wing” of BJP.
The AAP said the controversy stems from a post on its official handle detailing how the BJP got Rs 60 crore via electoral bonds from Sarath Reddy, whom the ED had previously accused as the ‘kingpin’ of the alleged liquor policy scandal.
“The money trail is glaringly evident in BJP accounts. Parallelly, BJP’s aggressive social media and poster campaigns targeting Arvind Kejriwal with derogatory language further fuels the controversy. Despite lodging over nine complaints with the EC, no concrete action has been taken to address these grievances,” the party said.
AAP national spokesperson, Priyanka Kakkar, stated it is unfortunate for the country that presently the EC is functioning as an ‘extended wing’ of the BJP. By aligning with the BJP, the EC has started considering itself above the country’s constitution and laws. The laws of the land provide even terrorists with a chance to be heard, the AAP leader said.
“Still, the Election Commission did not deem it necessary, and directly instructed the social media platform ‘X’ to remove our post. X also expressed deep regret in writing that our post was being removed,” Kakkar said while addressing the press.
Kakkar also showed a post by AAP related to electoral bonds to the media, which ‘X’ has allegedly removed. Questioning the act, Kakkar said,“What is wrong with this? This post is entirely based on truth. It says that the electoral bond was a scam. It says that Sarath Reddy gave Rs 60 crores to the BJP through electoral bonds, the same Sarath Reddy, whom the BJP had previously declared as the ‘kingpin’ of the alleged ‘South liquor lobby’.”
“BJP took Rs 60 crore from him first and then made him a government witness. Then, Sarath Reddy gave a statement against CM Kejriwal. The money trail of the Rs 60 crore can be clearly seen in the electoral bond. The ED remained silent during Reddy’s bail plea... we were asked to remove the truth,” she added.
Kakkar said, “We have lodged over nine complaints one after another with the EC against the BJP. We have complained several times about BJP’s hoardings and posters, but no action has been taken yet.”