Following allegations by the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Haryana unit that their request to hold two election campaign events in the Kaithal parliamentary constituency was met with a response containing abusive language, the Governor of Haryana took action by suspending Braham Prakash, Sub Divisional Officer (Civil), Kaithal.
Deputy Commissioner Prashant Panwar also took swift measures by suspending five individuals suspected of involvement in the incident.
A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against the accused parties, as confirmed by Deputy Commissioner Panwar on the social media platform X.
He explained, “An incident occurred on April 4, 2024, where the user ID of Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) Kaithal, Parliamentary Constituency (PC) Kurukshetra, was misused by unidentified individuals to access the ENCORE portal and post derogatory content.”
Panwar further stated that the FIR and suspension actions were taken in collaboration with cyber police, with an ongoing inquiry into the matter.
Sushil Gupta, Haryana unit chief of AAP and the party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Kurukshetra, denounced the incident as “shameful” and “derogatory.”
He revealed that the party had applied for permission to hold two election-related events in Kaithal on Sunday, April 7, via the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Suvidha portal.
The Suvidha candidate mobile application, designed to aid candidates in the nomination and permission processes during elections, handles such requests, with local officials making the decisions.
“Our first application was rejected with the comment ‘ko ni denge’ (we will not give),” Gupta disclosed. He also noted that a “highly abusive word” was used in rejecting their second application.
As the Lok Sabha election in Haryana approaches on May 25, such incidents underscore the importance of fair and respectful conduct in the electoral process.