AAP seeks urgent appointment with ECI to ensure level playing field

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party has sought an urgent appointment with the Election Commission to ensure a level playing field in the Lok Sabha elections, Delhi Minister Atishi said on Saturday. Atishi claimed that despite the representation made to the ECI by the INDIA bloc leaders on Friday, Income Tax conducted a raid on one of the AAP MLAs and further claimed that their party office has been sealed in the national capital.

In a post on X, Atishi said, "Aam Aadmi Party has sought an urgent appointment with the Election Commission, to ensure a level playing field in the Lok Sabha elections. Despite the representation made yesterday. Today, the Aam Aadmi Party office was sealed. Lok Sabha candidates and party leaders could not come to the party office for campaign meetings. There was an IT Dept raid on the home of one of our MLAs. It is the responsibility given by the Indian Constitution to the @ECISVEEP to ensure a level playing field." The Income Tax Department (IT) is conducting searches at the premises of Delhi AAP MLA Gulab Singh Yadav on Saturday. Gulab Singh Yadav is the AAP MLA from Delhi's Matiala seat. He is a two-time MLA.

Following the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the INDIA bloc on Friday submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission of India urging its intervention in the "targeting of opposition leaders" by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party through the "misuse of central agencies". The representation to the ECI was made by Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal, Abhishek Singhvi, NCP (SCP) leader Jitendra Awhad, CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury, TMC MP Derek O Brien and several other leaders.

The INDIA bloc in its memorandum, has urged the poll body to ensure that any further raids, investigations, and arrests are first vetted and approved by the Commission or a committee set up under it. It also urged the Election Commission to take immediate action, including the launch of investigations against all those individuals and officers who have misused their offices to harass the leaders of the opposition.

"Take any other steps necessary to ensure the constitutional mandate of a level playing field and to prevent political parties in power from misusing the State machinery against the leaders and political parties contesting elections in a democratic setup," the memorandum submitted to the poll body read. Delhi CM Kejriwal was arrested by the central agency after he skipped multiple summons by the investigation agency, nine in total, calling them "illegal". He has been remanded to ED custody till March 28.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities and money laundering in framing and implementing the Delhi Excise Policy 2022, which was later scrapped.