The Election Commission on Tuesday served notice to the Samajwadi Party’s Varanasi candidate Tej Bahadur Yadav and directed him to procure a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Border Security Force (BSF). The EC asked Yadav to file his response by 11 am on May 1.
In its letter, the Commission on Tuesday said employees of the State or Central Government who have been dismissed for "corruption or disloyalty to the State" shall be disqualified from campaigning for a period of five years.
When he had filed his nomination, he had accepted that he was dismissed.
But when he filed his papers again, he had omitted it, causing a discrepancy. On the basis of his reply, his nomination would be accepted or rejected.
The jawan, who had posted videos on social media complaining about the food served to troops on the frontlines, was dismissed from service in April 2017.
After Home Minister Rajnath Singh ordered an inquiry and the Prime Minister's Office sought a report, a court martial inquiry found him guilty of making false charges. Contending that he was victimised because he spoke the truth, Mr Yadav said he would go to court for justice.
In a massive exercise in optics, Tej Bahadur Yadav was fielded against PM Modi on Monday by the Samajwadi Party. The jawan claimed that even Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party had promised to back him. In 2014, Mr Kejriwal had contested against PM Modi and got more than 2 lakh votes.
Today, in a dig at the BJP, Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal tweeted, "Vote for the soldiers directly — in Varanasi... If your patriotism is not hollow".
Various BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have
accused the Opposition of neglecting the requirements of the armed forces and
highlight the Government's efforts in this regard to underscore its commitment to nationalism and national security, its central theme in this election.