New Delhi: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has hit out at the Election Commission (EC) over the FIR registered against him for violating COVID-19 norms while campaigning for a Congress candidate in Noida for the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Talking to news agency ANI, Baghel said, “Why was the FIR registered against me when I had candidates, district committee president, 15-20 security personnel, 30-40 journalists and Uttar Pradesh police personnel. And how should we preach? The Election Commission should give a demo of how to campaign. We will do it exactly like that.”
Senior Congress leader Baghel also questioned why no action was taken against the door-to-door campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Amroha. The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister further told the news agency, “The Election Commission should keep its role fair, if the fairness is not visible in the beginning, then what will we expect in the end.”
On Sunday, Bhupesh Baghel participated in a door-to-door campaign in Noida for Congress party’s candidate Pankhuri Pathak, who is fighting against Defense Minister Rajnath Singh’s son and BJP MLA Pankaj Singh.
A police spokesperson said, “An FIR was registered against Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and others for violating the COVID-19 rules laid down by the Election Commission while they were in Sector 113 police station area.”
Countering the FIR lodged, Pankhuri Pathak said it was a sign of “fear” due to the “growing support base” of the Congress party. He said, “The fear of Congress’s growing support base has started showing. Me and three others were with the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh.
He also alleged failure on the part of the police to control the crowd when a popular chief minister (Baghel) came. The Congress candidate further said that we are not afraid of the FIR.
first published:Jan. 17, 2022, 1:35 p.m.
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