New Delhi [India], January 7 : Amid the controversy over the "summoning" of the New Delhi District Election Officer (DEO), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh on Tuesday defended the government's actions, saying that the officer was accountable towards them. He said that the job of the DEO was to oversee the election processes and maintain that there is no partiality.
"He (DEO) is not a VIP. He has an answerability towards us. Their job is to look after the election process. Will we not meet him? Is he such a VIP that we cannot meet him? If we talk about protocol, then a DM's protocol is much lower than a Member of Parliament yet we went to his office. He should feel respected. Is he not ashamed to make such statements?" Singh told ANI.
"How are we threatening him? Is asking for information regarding voters and ghost objectors considered threatening? The officers should be a little humble. It is strange that the officer who is supposed to oversee the election processes considers meeting as threatening," Singh added.
This comes after the New Delhi District Administration requested police protection for the District Election Officer due to concerns about potential disruptions to the electoral process. The Additional District Magistrate, Nishant Bodh, cited the frequent presence of political party representatives at the election office and the possibility of breach of peace and pressure on election officials.
Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC on Tuesday said that action must be taken against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders for "threatening" an election officer. She alleged conspiracy on the part of Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and AAP leaders including Raghav Chaddha, Sanjay Singh and Arvind Kejriwal for "questioning" and "summoning" an election officer.
Reacting to this, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Virendraa Sachdeva earlier said, "We have been saying this for the last 3 months that Arvind Kejriwal and his team have been trying to influence the elections. Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh threatened the elections officers on public holidays. This shows they have completely lost their ground."