AAP alleges BJP, EC 'conspiracy' behind vote deletion in Delhi polls; BJP slams it for SIR 'phobia'
New Delhi (PTI): The AAP on Friday alleged that the Election Commission did not furnish information on its complaints of deletion of large number of votes of party supporters in Delhi Assembly polls held earlier this year, a charge rubbished by the polls panel.
Multiple letters written by former Delhi chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi, as well as RTI queries over deletion of votes, remained unanswered by the EC, AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed in a press conference.
The EC in a post on X shared a copy of its reply to AAP over vote deletion and said, "With reference to the PC held by Saurabh Bhardwaj today, it is stated that the ECI sent a detailed reply of 76 pages consisting of seven annexures, including reports of CEO/DEO, on 13.01.2025 to Ms Atishi, the then CM of Delhi."
In another post, the poll body said Atishi sent a letter dated January 5, 2025, to the ECI in a matter related to addition and deletion in electoral rolls of 40 New Delhi Assembly constituency segments.
Another letter from her was received on January 9 on the same issue, it said.
A defiant Bharadwaj in a post on X sought a copy of the FIR for "impersonation, fraud" for illegally trying to delete names of valid voters and manipulating the electoral process.
He alleged that an "organised syndicate hijacked" free and fair elections.
"If you are waiting for an affidavit, I am ready to sign the affidavit and submit. We are not scared of frivolous prosecution by government," he said.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that ever since the chief electoral officer of Delhi announced a special intensive revision (SIR) of the city's electoral rolls, the AAP leaders have developed a "phobia".
"The AAP leaders fear that the fake voters nurtured and converted into a core vote bank by previous governments in Delhi will now be exposed. The BJP forcefully raised the issue of bogus voters during the Assembly elections, and the outcome of that effort is visible to all," Sachdeva said.
In the press conference, Bharadwaj alleged that the EC is "openly helping" the BJP by targeting the opposition leaders on social media while ignoring "vote fraud".
"People stand in queues believing their votes form governments but it's the BJP and the EC that are forming governments together," Bharadwaj alleged.
The BJP ended AAP's political dominance in Delhi, winning 48 of the 70 Assembly seats in the city to form the government in February this year.
Prominent AAP faces, including party chief Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Bharadwaj himself, lost their seats.
Sachdeva, meanwhile, challenged Bharadwaj and AAP leaders, including Kejriwal, to file a formal complaint with the Election Commission along with an affidavit if they thought their allegations carried any weight.
"If you believe they were your voters, you should have ensured their names were on the electoral rolls," he said.
Bharadwaj alleged that the BJP "conspired" for deletion of thousands of votes belonging to AAP supporters.
"During the summary revision of rolls at the end of October 2024, the voter list in Kejriwal’s New Delhi constituency dramatically reduced. There were 1.48 lakh voters in the constituency when Assembly polls were held in 2020. However, in the Assembly polls held in February this year, the number of voters went down by 42,000," Bharadwaj claimed.
“Despite dozens of complaints and RTI applications, the EC neither acted nor replied. Instead, it quietly closed the files on this massive conspiracy," Bharadwaj claimed, alleging "systematic and organised loot" of democracy.
Then-chief minister Atishi wrote to the chief election commissioner on February 5, regarding applications filed for deletion of votes in Kejriwal’s constituency.
As many as 6,166 deletion applications were filed, he claimed.
Before this, Atishi wrote a seven-page letter to the chief election commission demanding a probe into the matter.
Kejriwal himself wrote to the CEC on January 9 and again on January 8 and January 9 with all the particulars, asking what action was taken and whether a criminal investigation was launched, Bharadwaj said.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
