Delhi Assembly polls: Bagga responds to notice over his campaign song

BJP candidate from Hari Nagar assembly constituency Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga on Sunday submitted his reply to the Returning Officer (RO) over his campaign song -- 'Bagga Bagga Har Jagah'.

A notice had been issued to Bagga, asking him to state why the expenditure for the song shouldn't be computed and added to his election expenses.

In the reply, the BJP candidate said that the tweet was uploaded through his personal handle on January 21, 2020, at 01:30 am well before he filed his nomination.

"I reiterate that the impugned tweet was uploaded in the early hours on 21st January 2020 at 01:30 am well before the filing of my nomination and hence no expenditure can be computed on it," reads Bagga's reply.

Bagga requested the Returning Officer (RO) to withdraw the present notice and asked him to provide him with an opportunity of personal hearing or through his election agent or representative prior to taking any action.

Citing the rules for the 'Use of Social Media in Election Campaigning and ECI's Social Media Policy" published by ECI, Bagga said: "The Commission has further clarified that any political content in the form of messages/ comments/photos/videos posted/uploaded on the blogs/self-accounts on websites/social media will not be treated as political advertisements and therefore would not require pre-certification.