The Election Commission of India on Thursday said that it has asked Maharashtra’s chief election officer to submit a report in connection with allegations that a firm linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT cell was hired for social media purposes ahead of Assembly elections in the state last year. The accusation was made by activist Saket Gokhale in a series of tweets.
Gokhale alleged that the firm belonged to Devang Dave, who is the BJP youth wing’s national convener of IT and social media. “It is beyond shocking that the Election Commission chose a BJP IT cell guy and his agency to handle their social media for Maharashtra elections,” Gokhlale tweeted. “The ECI [Election Commission of India] is supposed to be monitoring social media of parties during election. Here, they literally worked with the ruling party.”ADVERTISEMENT
The activist added that the address on the social media advertisements put out by the Maharashtra Election Commission belonged to Signpost India, a government-empanelled agency under Devendra Fadnavis’ government.
Election Commission of India Spokesperson Sheyphali Sharan said the poll body had taken note of Gokhale’s accusations and immediately asked for a detailed report from Maharashtra’s chief election officer.
Congress Spokesperson Sachin Sawant asked why the Election Commission did not verify the firm’s credentials before hiring it. “The poll body should work independently,” he said in a video posted on Twitter. “A firm belonging to BJP’s national office bearer was hired. This matter should be thoroughly investigated.”
Separately, Gokhale, a Right to Information activist, had also accused BJP workers of harassing him and threatening to kill him after he publicly opposed the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya city on August 5 amid the coronavirus crisis.ADVERTISEMENT
Gokhale had moved the Allahabad High Court on Friday, seeking a restraining order on the Bhoomi poojan or ground-breaking ceremony for the Ram temple. He had argued that around 300 people would gather at a single location and violate the crucial physical distancing guidelines to contain the spread of the coronavirus. His petition was dismissed.
Hours after the verdict, Gokhale tweeted a video that showed a group of four to five men walking around his residential complex and shouting “Bolo Jai Shri Ram”. The activist said the alleged members of the RSS, which is the ideological wing of the BJP also threatened his mother. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh took note of Gokhale’s tweets and assured him protection.
