The Election Commission on Tuesday issued a showcause notice to Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia for his tweet on the Aam Aadmi Party’s East Dehi candidate Atishi Marlena that allegedly violated the Model Code of Conduct, PTI reported. The poll panel asked him to reply to the notice by Wednesday.
On April 27, Sisodia had tweeted, “I am sad that the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party are spreading lies about our East Delhi candidate Atishi. BJP and Congress! Know this. Atishi Singh is her full name. She is a Rajputani. A pure Kshatrani. The queen of Jhansi. Beware. She will win and make history.”
Sisodia was responding to speculation about the Aam Aadmi Party candidate’s surname, religion and caste.
On April 29, Marlena had said that she had dropped her surname because she wanted the focus to be on her work and not her caste or religion. “I belong to a Punjabi Hindu family,” The Times of India had quoted her as saying. “I am Chhatriya. My last name was coined from Marx and Lenin and was given to me by my Left-leaning parents.”
East Delhi Returning Officer K Mahesh issued the notice based on a complaint lodged by the Bharatiya Janata Party on April 28. “You are directed to furnish your comments on the above matter before the undersigned by 5 pm on May 8, 2019, otherwise it will be presumed that you have nothing to say,” PTI quoted the order as stating.
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