A new alleged video showing the presiding officer reportedly tampering with ballot papers before declaring them illegal was published by the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday, hours after the Supreme Court referred to the cancellation of votes during the Chandigarh mayoral elections as a mockery of democracy. The video, according to the party, is live evidence of the BJP’s autocracy.
“Now, BJP, embrace it. Is there stronger proof than this one? Observe how the BJP Presiding Officer publicly violated the democratic flag by voiding his own votes. This is actual evidence of the BJP’s autocratic rule.”
Despite the fact that the Congress-AAP coalition had a larger majority in the Chandigarh municipal council, the BJP’s candidate won the mayoral elections in Chandigarh thanks to the invalidation of eight votes by the presiding officer, Anil Masih.
In opposition to the presiding officer’s action, the AAP had petitioned the Supreme Court. Court of Appeals criticises presiding officer
The court declared on Monday that the returning officer had tampered with the voting papers. India’s Chief Justice, DY Chandrachud, called it a mockery of democracy.
Is this the manner in which he handles the elections? This is democracy made fun of. Democracy is being murdered by this. We’re horrified. It is time to prosecute this man. Is this how the returning officer acts?” stated Indian Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.
Subsequently, through the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Supreme Court ordered the authorities to preserve all documentation of the election process, including ballot papers, videos, and other materials.
After considering the argument made by AAP candidate Kuldeep Dhalor, who was defeated on January 30 by BJP opponent Manoj Sonkar, the court ruled that the presiding officer needed to face charges. The court went on to say that his actions horrified it.
“The integrity of our electoral process is the only thing that keeps a democracy stable. And what’s going on over here? CJI Chandrachud declared, “We will not allow democracy to be murdered,” as the bench gave out a summons requiring returning officer Anil Masih to appear in person in court on February 19.
Twenty votes went to the Congress-AAP coalition. However, Dhalor’s effective vote total dropped to 12 compared to Sonkar’s 16 after Masih ruled that eight votes were fraudulent.
On February 2, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal organised a protest against the BJP over the election.
“Chandigarh’s election demonstrates that they are the source of sin. How was it filled? Nature moves its broom when the pot of sin gets overflowing, and God moves its broom and makes corrections. There was not much of an election in Chandigarh. In the Chandigarh elections, the largest political party in the world was exposed as a vote-stealer and exposed with its hands tied,” Kejriwal claimed.
