The Aam Aadmi Party has accused Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami of distributing money to buy votes ahead of the crucial assembly polls. Sharing a video, the official Twitter handle of the Aam Aadmi Party Uttarakhand alleged that Dhami had violated the election rules.
Urging the police and the Election Commission, the AAP wrote on Twitter, “What’s happening in Khatima? Pushkar Dhami is openly distributing money even after the end of the campaigning period. when AAP candidate from Khatima, SS Kaler, caught Dhami red-handed, he tried to shut the camera. The Election Commission and
the Chief Electoral Officer must take note.”
खटीमा में ये क्या हो रहा है?@pushkardhami चुनाव प्रचार खत्म होने के बाद खुलेआम पैसे बाँट रहे हैं।
खटीमा से आम आदमी पार्टी के प्रत्याशी @sskaleraap ने खुद धामी को रंगे हाथों पकड़ा तो धामी ने कैमेरा बंद कराने की कोशिश की।@ECISVEEP व @UttarakhandCEO जल्द इसका संज्ञान लें। pic.twitter.com/oLpuKV7UkX
— Aam Aadmi Party Uttarakhand (@AAPUttarakhand) February 13, 2022
In the video shared by the AAP Uttarakhand, Dhami can be seen challenged by a group of people, who are criticising him for distributing money. Dhami is heard asking to stop filming the development. One man then challenges the cops for allowing the election rules to be violated in their presence. One cop says that Dhami is merely carrying out a door-to-door campaign. The man then says that the rule should be the same for everyone.
Uttarakhand goes to polls in a single phase on 14 February with the counting of votes scheduled to be held on 10 March. In 2017, the BJP had defeated the Congress dislodging the then Chief Minister Harish Rawat from his post. However, the BJP has had to change three chief ministers in recent months following growqing anger against its government. The party has resorted to invoking communal agenda in recent days but it’s not clear if its desperate attempts will help the Hindutva party save its government in the hilly state.