The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Election Commission of India to examine the petition of former Border Security Force constable Tej Bahadur Yadav against the decision to bar him from the Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi constituency, ANI reported. The Samajwadi Party had fielded Yadav to contest against sitting MP Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the seat.
The Election Commission has been asked to file its response by Thursday.
Yadav had moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Advocate Prashant Bhushan is representing him in court.
In its notice to reject Yadav on May 1, the poll panel had said that government employees who have been dismissed for “corruption or disloyalty to the state” shall be disqualified from campaigning for five years.
When he filed his nomination, Yadav had admitted that he was dismissed from service. However, later, he reportedly omitted this from his nomination form. The Election Commission ordered the former soldier to produce a no-objection certificate from the BSF.
Yadav was sacked from service after he posted a video on social media in January 2017 about the watery dal and burnt rotis served to soldiers. The video was viewed more than 70 lakh times, prompting the Prime Minister’s Office to ask for a report. Yadav was dismissed after a court of inquiry found him guilty on charges of indiscipline for going public with his grievances.
Polling in the constituency is scheduled for May 19. The results will be announced on May 23.
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