The Congress and Aam Aadmi Party claim that the election was rigged by the presiding officer, who declared the BJP the winner even though they were short on votes.
The fact is that numbers were in favor of AAP and Congress but eight of their votes were declared invalid. AAP and Congress have termed the declaration of invalidity as rigging. Aam Aadmi Party and Congress had first approached the Punjab Haryana High Court, from where after not getting relief, they reached the Supreme Court. Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said, “This is a mockery of democracy. We are shocked by what happened. We cannot allow democracy to be murdered in this manner.” The Supreme Court also strongly reprimanded Anil Masih, the presiding officer who conducted the elections.
What else did the Supreme Court say?
According to news agency PTI, the Supreme Court has also issued a notice to the Chandigarh Administration and Municipal Corporation in the election rigging case.
The video of the election day also went viral on social media.
In the videos that surfaced during the election process, it can be seen that the presiding officer is seen signing or writing something on the ballot papers. Opposition parties allege that the presiding officer made marks on the ballot papers, which were later declared invalid.
Nothing was told during the election process about the reason for these ballot papers being declared invalid.
When coming across the videos, Supreme Court said that video recordings and ballot papers should be preserved.
After watching the video, CJI D.Y. Chandrachud said about the presiding officer, “It is clear that the ballot papers have been tampered with. Are elections conducted in this way? This man should be prosecuted. Why are they looking at the camera and then running away like fugitives?”
CJI Chandrachud said, “The presiding officer was seen making changes in the ballot paper. Is this the behavior of a returning officer? They look at the camera and tamper with the ballot papers. They keep the ballot paper which has a cross mark at the bottom of it in the tray. They spoil the ballot paper with a cross on it and then look at the camera. Tell them that the Supreme Court is watching them. We will not allow democracy to be murdered like this. The most important force to bring stability in the country is the purity of the election process.”
Apart from CJI Chandrachud, the bench hearing this case includes Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra. This petition has been filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of Aam Aadmi Party candidate Kuldeep Kumar in the Chandigarh Mayor elections.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Yogesh Dhingra calls to check Anil Masih’s call list
Leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Yogesh Dhingra, said in an interview with The Indian Express, “We applaud the Supreme Court’s ruling. But we also demand that Masih’s call logs be examined, as he was only following the big fish’s instructions.and the perpetrators of his actions ought to face consequences.
“He arrived at the assembly hall roughly forty to forty-five minutes late,” he continued. And why was that the case? Nobody is aware. A few BJP council members also arrived roughly forty-five minutes late.What then was the plan? It’s also necessary to determine who taught Masih how to perform this.
