The Election Commission on Wednesday imposed a 24-hour ban on BJP MP Parvesh Verma from campaigning for the Delhi Assembly polls over his alleged objectionable remarks against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. This means, he will not be able to campaign for the February 8 elections any further as campaigning ends at 5 pm on Thursday.
"The (Election) Commission is of the considered view that Sh. Parvesh Sahib Singh made vitriolic aspersions against Sh. Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi which violate... the Model Code of Conduct..." the poll panel said in a statement.
The Aam Aadmi Party had on Monday approached the Election Commission against a few BJP leaders, including Verma and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minster Yogi Adityanath, over their remarks against Kejriwal and demanded an FIR against them.
Verma had called Kejriwal a 'terrorist' over the latter's support to the agitators at Shaheen Bagh who are protesting against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. “If the Delhi chief minister stands with the protesters of Shaheen Bagh who are raising slogans of Pakistan zindabad, he can be called a terrorist,” he had said while talking to a TV channel.
Verma was banned for 96 hours from campaigning last week for allegedly making hate speeches. During a poll meet, he had said what happened in Kashmir with Kashmiri Pandits could happen in Delhi, and warned that lakhs of anti-CAA protesters in Shaheen Bagh could enter homes to rape and kill women.
It now remains to be seen whether the poll body would take similar action against Union minister Prakash Javadekar who, too, called Kejriwal a terrorist.
Addressing a press meet in Delhi on Monday, Javadekar had said: "Kejriwal is now asking with a sad face, 'am I a terrorist?' You are a terrorist and there is a lot of evidence to prove that. You yourself had said you are an anarchist. There is not much of a difference between an anarchist and a terrorist."
The national capital goes to polls on February 8 and the results will be declared on February 11.
