Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the BJP after the Saffron party won the Chandigarh Mayoral Elections. The Chandigarh Mayor Election was termed as the curtain raiser for the upcoming Lok Sabha Polls as the INDIA alliance and the BJP locked horns for the first time. However, the Chandigarh Mayor Election witnessed a high voltage drama after BJP won the Chandigarh mayoral elections with 16 votes for its mayoral candidate Manoj Sonkar. The Congress Mayor candidate got 12 votes. 8 votes were declared invalid.
Addressing a press conference, Raghav Chadha slammed the BJP and stated that the fraud and illegality committed by the Saffron party in the Chandigarh Mayoral Poll is nothing less than treason. "For the first time in the Chandigarh mayor elections- 8 out of the 36 votes were declared invalid. Congress & AAP alliance had to get 20 votes. We got 12 votes & 8 were declared invalid. Not a single vote of the BJP was declared invalid," said Raghav Chadha adding, "Whatever we saw during the Chandigarh mayor election that is not only unconstitutional but was treason...The illegality that we saw in the Chandigarh mayor election can only be called treason."
Chadha further said, "This shows that if BJP can use illegal tactics to win a small mayor election, then what will it do to win the Lok Sabha Elections? Does the BJP want to make this country North Korea?"
Furthermore, Raghav Chadha demanded the arrest of the Presiding Officer. "Action should be taken against the Presiding Officer. He should be arrested, he has done treason...We will file a complaint and demand not just an inquiry but his arrest," said Raghav Chadha.
"This is not a setback for one coalition, one alliance, or one party. It is a setback for India's democracy...We are aggrieved and hurt & we are worried as to what will happen in the upcoming 2024 polls. If the BJP can resort to such low levels & commit forgery & illegality...BJP can go to any level to rig the election process," added Raghav Chadha.
Notably, the AAP and Congress councilors alleged that election officer Anil Masih was tampering with the ballot paper. Anil Masih said that he was just signing them. Councilors of both parties created a ruckus regarding this.