2 weeks Ago By Mid-day
Ahead of the upcoming , Nationalist Congress Party—Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) leader Supriya Sule has condemned the Election Commission of India's checking of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's helicopter and bags and called it "dirty politics," reported news agency ANI. Sule said Thackeray's bags were checked twice, while the bags of politicians in power are not checked like this. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Sule said, "How is it possible that only opposition leaders' bags are checked? Uddhav Thackeray's bags were checked twice.
No checking of the leaders in power is done. Such dirty politics is being done in Maharashtra," reported ANI. On Tuesday, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief helicopter and bags were checked in Latur before his Ausa Rally in support of the MVA candidate.
After the incident Thackeray expressed anger, asking whether ECI officials checked the bags of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar. However, the Election Commission clarified that enforcement agencies are strictly following Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for a level playing field, reported ANI. ANI reported that Home Minister Amit Shah's and BJP President JP Nadda's helicopters were also checked during the Maharashtra elections 2024.
A similar issue was raised in Bihar during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Then, it was clarified that enforcement agencies checked the helicopters of prominent leaders, including BJP National President JP Nadda. Specifically, Nadda's helicopter was inspected in Bhagalpur on April 24, 2024, and Home Minister helicopter was checked in Katihar on April 21, 2024, as per SOP.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, during the announcement of the ongoing assembly elections, also emphasized that enforcement agencies have been directed to check the helicopters of all leaders to ensure a level playing field, reported ANI. This move aims to prevent any undue influence or misuse of power during the elections and to maintain fairness and transparency in the electoral process..
