Aam Aadmi Party's rally under Election Commission's scanner

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party's rally in Old Delhi area today came under the scanner of Delhi Election Commission for allegedly having more number of vehicles in the cavalcade than allowed under Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

Under MCC norms, only 10 vehicles are allowed in a rally. The incident came to light this morning when AAP started its road campaign "Jhadhu Chalao Yatra" in Delhi.

The rally, which started from North Delhi's Chandrawal village, was joined by auto rickshaw drivers and other vehicles. It was briefly halted in Chandni Chowk of Old Delhi by observers of Election Commission and the party members were told about MCC norms of 10 vehicles.

After that the rally moved ahead with 10 vehicles, said an official.

Following the objection, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal asked his supporter to follow the EC's instruction and the four-hour long roadshow passed through Vidhan Sabha, Tees Hazari, Barfkhana, Chandi Chowk, Red Fort, Jama Masjid and Matia Mahal localities.

As the permission to conduct the roadshow was till 3 PM, Kejriwal could not go to Ballimaran area and it culminated at Turkman Gate.

When asked about violating the model code of conduct, the AAP leader said, "we have followed the EC's instruction and asked our supporters, to maintain a distance of 200 metres with the last car in the 10 car-long cavalcade."

Ashima Jain, District Election Officer (Central) said, "We have got the videography done of the entire rally. We will go through the video footage before taking any action."

Jain added that a report in this matter will be filed in two days.