Parties to be prosecuted for protest without permit, says Delhi EC

The Delhi Election Commission has taken stringent note of recent protest by AAP workers at the BJP headquarters, which turned violent, and warned political parties of criminal prosecution if such incidents are repeated in defiance of Model Code of Conduct.

The Model Code of Conduct came into force on 3 March, when the Election Commission announced the dates for the Lok Sabha polls.

Making a strong case out of the show cause notice issued to AAP over the protest, Delhi Election Commission during an all-party meeting recently, asked political parties not to indulge in mutually assured destruction (MAD) syndrome, which would ultimately hamper their future prospect.

‘In the meeting we made it clear that they should not indulge in such activities and pollute the atmosphere,’ Delhi chief electoral officer Vijay Dev said.

‘In the first instance, opportunity is given to political parties to explain their position, but if such incidents are repeated, in violation of model code of conduct, criminal prosecution of the party will be done.’ 

Dev further said de-recognition of a political party is also a possibility, but that option is used when there is no alternative left.

During the meeting, the parties were briefed about the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and booklets containing them were circulated among them. While the do’s and don’ts were explained, the AAP-BJP incident was quoted as well, Dev said.

‘When MCC is in place, no dharna, rally, protest can be done without prior permission. This was prima facie violated in that particular incident,’ Dev added.

‘Political parties have been asked to ensure that such incident do not take place in future,’ said Dev.

AAP workers had fought pitched battles on 5 March with BJP activists outside the saffron party headquarters here, hours after former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was detained briefly in Gujarat.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Electoral Office on Tuesday sent its report to the Election Commission of India (ECI) recommending action over the alleged protest by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters outside BJP headquarters here recently.

According to the sources, the chief electoral officer Vijay Dev has sent his report after receiving the district election officer’s (DEO) report which said that it was not satisfied with the AAP’s reply to the show cause notice issued to them and that the incident was a violation of the model code of conduct. AAP may get a censure from the Election Commission for the protest which turned violent outside the BJP headquarters on March 5. However, the final decision will be taken by ECI.