EC censures AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal

Following a complaint by BJP's Delhi unit chief Satish Upadhyay, the EC had issued a notice to Kejriwal on Jan 17.

Censuring Kejriwal, the party on  Friday said in a letter: "Now, therefore, the commission hereby conveys its displeasure and censures you for the above violation of MCC and expects you to be more circumspect in your public utterances in future."

On Jan 17, the EC had issued a notice to the AAP supremo for violating the Model Code of Conduct during a press conference where he had targeted the BJP and said it was attempting to incite communal violence in the national capital. The EC directed the leader  to respond to the showcause by  by 3.00 pm on Jan 20.

Kejriwal on the other hand has submitted his response to the notice by the Election Commission and said the charges leveled against him were' malafide and motivated'.

"It is respectfully submitted that the allegations levelled against me in the complaint are malafide  and motivated. It is apparently a counter blast by  the Complainant and/or his Party to distract the  people by diverting attention," he said in his reply.

"I deny the allegations of the Complainant in toto. The information disseminated during the press  conference was based on cogent and reliable  material available in public domain and ground  perception among the local public at large," he said.

The Delhi unit of the BJP had sent legal notice to Kejriwal for making allegations against Satish Upadhyay that  he had a nexus with power distribution company BSES.

Kejriwal had alleged that there was a nexus between Delhi power companies and the Delhi BJP chief.

He had claimed that Upadhyay's firms were installing and repairing electricity meters for discoms in the national capital.

He had accused the BJP of inciting communal violence in the Delhi.

The EC also directed Kejriwal to respond to the showcause notice issued against  him for prima facie violating the poll code by his 'take bribes' remark.

"Now, therefore, you ate hereby called upon to explain by I 1:00 AM on 27.01.2015 as to why action should not be taken against you for aforesaid violation of Model Code of Conduct, failing which the Election Commission of India shall take a decision without any further reference to you," the EC said.