Kejriwal 'heckled' at Vadodara airport, says BJP and Cong united to 'abuse' him
Vadodara (PTI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday claimed he was heckled at the Vadodara airport in Gujarat by a group of people who raised slogans hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kejriwal also claimed supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) never raise slogans against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi when he visits Gujarat and alleged that BJP and Congress are "united" to abuse him and AAP.
"When I landed at the airport in Vadodara, some 30-40 people shouted, 'Modi', 'Modi', 'Modi' in front of me. The situation in Gujarat is such that BJP is going to be in great trouble," the Delhi Chief Minister told reporters.
Kejriwal is in Vadodara to address a town hall meeting as part of the campaign to reach out to various sections of society ahead of the elections, due in December this year.
"It is said that there are 66 seats in urban areas (in Gujarat) which BJP never lost. But this time, they will be in trouble. They are not going to win all these seats (in upcoming Assembly elections)," Kejriwal said.
He alleged BJP and Congress were abusing him because he talks about the well-being of the people of Gujarat.
"BJP supporters never shout slogans against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi when he visits Gujarat. This is because both parties are united against me and AAP. Both BJP and Congress shout slogans against Kejriwal. They are united and abuse me," he alleged.
In the coming days, Congress and BJP will field national-level leaders in Gujarat "who will abuse me", the AAP leader said.
Kejriwal is leading the AAP's poll campaign in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
During his multiple visits to the state, he had promised a string of "guarantees" including free power and the generation of jobs. He also assured the welfare of various sections, including women, youth, lawyers, auto-rickshaw drivers, government employees etc.
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BJP worker’s 16-year-old son allegedly casts eight votes in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad; Video viral
Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.
The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.
In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.
The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.
Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.
Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.
The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."
Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.
In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.
The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.
अपनी हार सामने देख कर भाजपा जनादेश को झुठलाने के लिए सरकारी तंत्र पर दबाव बना कर लोकतंत्र को लूटना चाहती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2024
कांग्रेस चुनावी ड्यूटी कर रहे सभी अधिकारियों से यह अपेक्षा करती है कि वो सत्ता के दबाव के सामने अपनी संवैधानिक ज़िम्मेदारी न भूलें।
वरना INDIA की सरकार बनते ही ऐसी… https://t.co/fk4wXL8QZy
