"AAP trying to bully....": BJP's Rachna Reddy slams Delhi CM Atishi

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 8 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Rachna Reddy on Tuesday accused Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Atishi, of improper conduct after she allegedly summoned the District Election Officer (DEO) to her official residence without a clear agenda, seeking personal details of electoral roll objectors.
BJP leader Rachna Reddy raised concerns over the timing of the meeting, just ahead of the Delhi elections, and criticised the AAP government for allegedly misusing power.
Reddy also questioned the functioning of the Delhi government, accusing it of being more focused on superficial statements than actual governance and urging Delhi voters to give the AAP government a "befitting reply" at the polls.
Speaking to ANI, Reddy said, "Is AAP trying to bully out of desperation, frustration or anger? We don't know. Doesn't Atishi who has been a minister and now is the chief minister all thanks to Arvind Kejriwal, Raghav Chadha, and Sanjay Singh have the audacity to call the DEO involved in the preparation of the final electoral rolls at her official residence without any kind of agenda to the meeting, asking for personal details of the objectors, of the electoral rolls, etc."
"What is happening in Delhi? Is it gundagardi? Does she realize that she's in election time and that she cannot just call up officers willy-nilly and ask them for personal details of electors in her constituency? The voters of Delhi should give them a befitting reply. This is a government that has superficially made statements but has never functioned for the welfare of the people of Delhi," said Reddy.
Meanwhile, amid the controversy over the "summoning" of the New Delhi DEO, 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 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."
The Election Commission of India announced the dates for polls to the Delhi Legislative Assembly. The elections will be held in a single phase on February 5, while the counting of votes will take place on February 8.
"The date of the election has been announced. All the workers are ready to enter the fray with full strength and enthusiasm. You are our biggest strength. This election will be between the politics of work and the politics of abuse. The people of Delhi will have faith in our politics of work. We will definitely win," Kejriwal wrote on X.
The Election Commission of India has announced the dates for polls to the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
The elections will be held in a single phase on February 5, while the counting of votes will take place on February 8. The last date for filing nominations is January 17. The date for scrutiny of nominations is January 18. While last date for withdrawal of candidature is January 20.
With the announcement of the election dates, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into force in the national capital and will remain in force till the completion of the election process.
The final voter list published on January 6, 2025, for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, recorded a total of 1,55,24,858 registered voters in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, showing a net increase of 1.09 per cent.
In the race for the New Delhi seat, the BJP has fielded Parvesh Verma, former MP and son of former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma, to challenge Arvind Kejriwal.
The Congress has also entered the fray with Sandeep Dikshit, son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, from the same seat.
The BJP has fielded former MP Ramesh Bidhuri against Delhi CM Atishi in the Kalkaji seat while the Congress has fielded former MLA Alka Lamba.
The Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and has failed to win any seat. In contrast, the AAP dominated the 2020 assembly elections by winning 62 out of 70 seats while the BJP got only eight seats. (ANI)