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The Election Commission on Friday censured Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal for his accusations that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) tried to incite communal violence in Delhi and asked him to be more careful in his public speeches. He has been found violating the model code of conduct.
"The Commission hereby conveys its displeasure and censures you for the violation of Model Code of Conduct and expects you to be more circumspect in your public utterances in future," the EC said in an order here following BJP Delhi President Satish Upadhyay's complaint.
The EC had served a notice on Kejriwal who had given a reply on Friday and the Commission said that he not "denied the statements" he had made.
During a press conference last week, Kejriwal charged BJP of "being responsible for inciting communal violence in various parts of Delhi in the recent past." Upadhyay had lodged a complaint with the commission for violation of model code of conduct which had kicked in after the Delhi election dates were announced on January 12.
The EC noted that Kejriwal's statements had "the effect of aggravating existing differences or creating mutual hatred or causing tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic" along with "vitiating the purity of election process" and "disturbing level playing field."
