Delhi BJP leaders on Friday met Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Dr Ranvir Singh and demanded action against AAP spokesperson for allegedly terming their party’s candidate, Rajesh Bhatia, a “Pakistani”. Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri accused AAP spokesperson of “insulting” Bhatia and also violating the model code of conduct.
In a news channel debate, the AAP spokesperson had purportedly said that Bhatia’s ancestors “must have come to India from Pakistan so he is a Pakistani”. He was giving reply to BJP’s attack on AAP candidate Durgesh Pathak as an outsider in Rajinder Nagar.
Pathak had contested the 2020 Assembly polls from the Karawal Nagar seat and lost to the BJP’s Mohan Singh Bisht.
The bypoll to the Rajinder Nagar seat was necessitated after sitting AAP MLA Raghav Chadha was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab.
Bidhuri said that lakhs of Hindus and Sikhs came to India from Pakistan after Partition in 1947, and thousands of such families are settled in Rajinder Nagar.
“By terming BJP candidate Rajesh Bhatia a Pakistani, the AAP spokesperson has violated the model code of conduct,” he said.
Delhi BJP general secretary Harsh Malhotra and MLA Ajay Mahawar said that Aam Aadmi Party is trying to “vitiate” the election campaigning process as it is losing political ground.
The voting for the bypoll will take place on June 23 and the result will be declared on June 26.
