The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the Election Commission had "banned" their Lok Sabha campaign anthem "Jail Ka Jawab, Vote Se Denge", although officials from the Delhi poll body clarified that AAP was requested to adjust the song's content as it breached EC's guidelines and advertising standards.
The campaign song, lasting over two minutes and written and sung by AAP MLA Dilip Pandey, was unveiled at the party's headquarters earlier last week.
According to a statement by the Delhi Chief Electoral Office, upon reviewing AAP's advertisement, the Media Pre Certification Committee, led by Delhi's joint chief electoral officer, noted discrepancies concerning various provisions and guidelines set forth by the Election Commission.
"The said creative/advertisement was returned along with the observations with the request to modify the contents of the creative as per the Advertising Codes prescribed under the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994 and ECI guideline/ norms circulated vide letter dated August 24, 2023 and resubmit after modification, for the certification," it said.
The party was informed of the option to file an appeal before the state-level Media Certification and Monitoring Committee if it disagreed with the committee's decision.
Earlier, the Delhi poll panel expressed concerns over certain images and phrases within the song, "criticism of the ruling party on the basis of unverified facts" and also cast aspersions on the judiciary and police.
At a press conference, senior AAP leader Atishi criticized the Election Commission, accusing it of favoritism towards the BJP and ignoring its transgressions. She maintained that the campaign song neither mentioned the BJP nor violated the Model Code of Conduct.
"It incorporates factual incidents, including Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, Manish Sisodia's mistreatment by the police, and our volunteers' unjust detention during protests. Does the EC intend to suppress the truth?" she questioned.
Atishi claimed that the Election Commission deemed the song critical of the ruling party (BJP) and investigative agencies, despite not mentioning the BJP explicitly.
The Delhi chief election office, in its response to AAP over the song, said the lyrics "jail ke jawaab me hum vote denge" have violated provisions of ECI Guidelines and the Programme and Advertising Codes prescribed under the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994.
Sources said it also said that images of a crowd carrying Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's photo in which he is behind bars cast aspersions on the judiciary. Sources said that some clips showing party workers clashing with police incite violence and frames showing Manish Sisodia being escorted by police show the latter in a negative light.
Maintaining AAP's innocence, Atishi appealed to the poll body "to pay attention to the fact that the BJP is flouting the Model Code of Conduct every day and stop the work of stalling the election campaign of the opposition".
"I really hope that after a few years, the elections of 2024 should not be remembered as the election in which India's democracy ended, in which the Election Commission was not neutral, in which the Election Commission became a political weapon of the BJP," she concluded.
