The BJP swept the Chandigarh mayoral polls on January 30, retaining all three posts, defeating the Congress-AAP alliance.
New Delhi: The recent Chandigarh mayoral elections have been marred by controversy and allegations of tampering with ballot papers. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has released a new video that allegedly shows the presiding officer tampering Anil Masih with the ballot papers before declaring them invalid. This video has further fuelled the party’s claims of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) dictatorship. The Supreme Court has also expressed its concern over the cancellation of votes during the elections, calling it a mockery of democracy.
In the video released by the AAP, the presiding officer can be seen manipulating the ballot papers, raising serious questions about the integrity of the electoral process. He is looking at the camera even as he is busy with the process of signing. “Now accept it, BJP. What can be a greater proof than this? See how the Presiding Officer of BJP openly destroyed the flag of democracy by cancelling the votes himself. This is living proof of BJP’s dictatorship,” AAP Punjab said (roughly translated from Punjabi to English)
ਹੁਣ ਤਾਂ ਮੰਨ ਜਾਓ @BJP4India ਵਾਲਿਓ!
ਇਸਤੋਂ ਵੱਡਾ ਸਬੂਤ ਹੋਰ ਕੀ ਹੋ ਸਕਦੈ। ਦੇਖੋ ਕਿਵੇਂ BJP ਦੇ Presiding Officer ਨੇ ਸ਼ਰੇਆਮ ਖ਼ੁਦ ਹੀ ਵੋਟਾਂ ਕੈਂਸਲ ਕਰਕੇ ਉਡਾਈਆਂ ਲੋਕਤੰਤਰ ਦੀਆਂ ਧੱਜੀਆਂ।
ਇਹ ਭਾਜਪਾ ਦੀ ਤਾਨਾਸ਼ਾਹੀ ਦਾ ਜਿਉਂਦਾ ਜਾਗਦਾ ਸਬੂਤ ਹੈ।#ChandigarhMayor pic.twitter.com/BIxIhrwRv6
— AAP Punjab (@AAPPunjab) February 5, 2024
‘Mockery of democracy’: SC
An angry Supreme Court on Monday slammed the returning officer for the Chandigarh mayoral polls Anil Masih, saying he should be prosecuted as he can be clearly seen defacing the ballot papers on video to influence the election results.
“It is obvious that he has defaced the ballot papers. He needs to be prosecuted. Why is he looking at the camera? This is a mockery of democracy. We are appalled. Is this the behaviour of a returning officer? Wherever there is a cross at bottom, he does not touch it but when it is at the top, he alters it. Please tell the returning officer that the Supreme Court is watching him,” said the three-judge bench of the top court, headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud.
After watching the video, CJI said that the Presiding Officer was seen making alterations in the ballot paper. “Is this the behaviour of a returning officer? He looks at the camera, and defaces the ballot obviously. Where there is a cross at the bottom (of the ballot paper), he puts it into the tray. The moment there is a cross at the top, the man defaces the ballot and looks at the camera. Tell him that the Supreme Court is watching him. We will not allow democracy to be murdered like this. The great stabilising force in the country is the purity of the election process,” CJI said.
The apex court made its critical observations against Masih after hearing a plea filed by the defeated AAP councillor Kuldeep Kumar, challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court order that refused to grant any interim relief to the party seeking fresh mayoral polls in Chandigarh.
The BJP swept the Chandigarh mayoral polls on January 30, retaining all three posts, defeating the Congress-AAP alliance.
BJP’s Manoj Sonkar was declared winner against the AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar for the mayor’s post. While the former secured 16 votes, the latter got 12. However, the officer had declared eight votes invalid.