New Delhi:  The Aam Aadmi Party and Congress have welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on the Chandigarh mayoral elections after the apex court criticised the manner in which the polls were conducted. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's observations on the Chandigarh mayoral polls, saying, "It is because of such decisions that people's hopes are pinned on the legal system".


As per PTI, he also sought that the criminal liability and culpability should be fixed for the events that unfolded on the day of the elections. Pathak's statement came hours after the apex court ordered that the Chandigarh mayoral poll ballots and the video of the electoral proceedings be preserved. 


"The AAP-Congress combined had achieved 20 votes while the BJP got 16 votes. However, the person in charge invalidated eight votes. It has never happened in our democracy. For the first time, the act was recorded in cameras", PTI quoted Pathak as saying.


ALSO READ | 'It's Obvious He Defaced Ballot Papers': SC Calls Chandigarh Mayor Elections 'Murder Of Democracy'


Malwinder Kang, the AAP Punjab Chief Spokesperson, condemned the BJP's victory as a humiliation to the entire country, asserting that it goes beyond a defeat for political parties. Kang applauded the Supreme Court's decisive stance, particularly its direction to hand over the electoral process to the registrar of the High Court.


"India is the largest democracy in the world. BJP has humiliated the entire country. This is not the defeat of AAP and Congress. This is an insult to the mandate given by the people of Chandigarh. The way the SC has given clear directions to hand over the process to the registrar of the High Court stayed the proceedings of the budget session, and on 12 February final verdict will be announced only then will justice be finally delivered to the people of Chandigarh. BJP's cheap politics has been exposed in front of the country," he remarked, as reported by ANI.









The BJP on January 30 swept the Chandigarh mayoral polls against the Congress-AAP alliance. Manoj Sonkar of the BJP had defeated the AAP's Kuldeep Kumar for the mayor's post, polling 16 votes against his rival's 12 after eight votes were declared invalid. 


Taking note of a plea from an AAP councillor alleging wrongdoing in the polls, the court issued notices to the Chandigarh authorities, including the civic body.


A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra expressed disappointment after watching the video of the electoral proceedings and said that, prima facie, the returning officer was defacing the ballot papers. "This is a mockery of democracy. We are appalled by what has happened. We will not allow democracy to be murdered like this", the CJI said, reported PTI.


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