Known for his penchant for controversies, Bharatiya Janta Party MP and Muzaffarnagar riot accused Sangeet Singh Som, has once again landed in a soup by screening the riot videos during campaigning in Meerut thereby violating the Model Code of Conduct.
During campaigning in Sardhana Assembly seat of Meerut on Tuesday, a campaign vehicle of Som equipped with a lED screen, showed how the Muzaffarnagar riots were instigated after a crime in Kanwal area of the district.
District Magistrate of Meerut, B Chandrakala said that she had sought a report from authorities on the incident and will take appropriate action thereafter.
“We will inform the Election Commission about the incident, once the authorities submit their report,” she said. However, it is certain that an FIR would be registered against the MlA for violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
The campaign van was stopped at the MlA’s native Faridpur village and thevideo was screened. After some people informed the police about the controversial video, a team rushed and initiated proceedings. The vehicle used for canvassing and the CD containing the clip has been seized by police and a case registered against Virendra Kumar and Chandrshekhar Singh for violating the Model Code of Conduct.
The CD contains episodes related to killings in Kawal, the mahapanchayat in Khera village and Som’s arrest during the Muzaffarnagar riots.
However, Som, who is contesting from Sardhana seat, said that there was ‘nothing controversial in the CD and that parts of the video had already been aired on TV channels’.
Meanwhile, Shamli police registered an FIR against another BJP MlA and co-accused in Muzaffarnagar riots, Suresh Rana after he sat on dharna along with traders at Thanabhawan police station protesting a robbery at Hasanpur lohari village on Tuesday.
SP of Shamli Anil Kumar Jha said that the BJP MlA had violated the MCC and hence an FIR was lodged against him and his supporters.
Meanwhile reports from Muzaffarnagar confirmed that BJP MlA from Muzaffarnagar seat Kapil Dev Aggarwal has been booked for violation of MCC. A case was registered against Aggarwal after his supporters gathered at Shiv Chowk without permission after he was renominated from the seat by the party on Tuesday.
Besides Agarwal, local SP leader Gaurav Jain was also booked for violating the MCC after his supporters gathered following the EC decision to allot the symbol of ‘cycle’ to the faction led by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Elsewhere in Mathura, District Election Officer served a show-cause to BJP candidate for Baldev Assembly seat and incumbent MlA Puran Prakash for giving advertisements in newspapers without permission. Mathura ADM, who is also the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) in-charge, said that candidates have to show the advertisement to MCMC before publishing it.After being nominated as a BJP candidate for the Assembly polls, Prakash has published advertisements in all major newspapers of the area expressing his gratitude on Tuesday. Prakash has been asked to reply to the notice within 24 hours.
On the first day of filing of nominations, EC overseer Rakesh Divangan visited the MCMC office in Mathura on Tuesday and reviewed all advertisements given by parties and their leaders in newspapers and TV channels. He directed the MCMC officials to keep an eye on campaign material being printed in newspapers or aired in TV channels on a daily basis.