The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday issued the final notice to Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal for repeatedly flouting the Model Code of Conduct. The Commission said that it would be compelled to take stern action against him in case of any further violation. Kejriwal was pulled up by EC on January 23 for repeatedly making ‘bribe’ remarks during political rallies, instigating people to take bribe from the BJP and Congress but vote for the AAP. The Commission said that it desists Kejriwal from making such statements in all forms of election campaign from now (1900 hours of January 27, 2015) onwards.
Since the Commission considers it as violative of the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and also violative of the provisions of Section 171B (whoever gives a gratification to any person with the object of inducing him or any other person to exercise any electoral right or of rewarding any person for having exercised any such right or accepts either for himself or for any other person any gratification as a reward for exercising any such right or for inducing or attempting to induce any other person to exercise any such right; commits the offence of bribery: Provided that a declaration of public policy or a promise of public action shall not be an offence under this Section) with Section 17lE, of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The ECI had previously censured Kejriwal and said that the former Chief Minister of Delhi has been found guilty of violating the Model Code of Conduct. The ECI has issued another notice to him on January 23. The ECI conveyed “its displeasure and censures you for the above violation of MCC and expects you to be more circumspect in your public utterances in future”.
Earlier, EC had issued a notice over a statement made during a public rally on January 18 in Uttam Nagar, stating that it amounts to “abetting and promoting electoral offence of bribery” under relevant sections of the Representation of the People Act read with provisions of IPC. Before this, a notice was served to Kejriwal for accusing the BJP of “communal politics” while speaking at a rally.