In plea to EC, Tehseen Poonwalla asks it to debar Sadhvi Pragya from contesting polls

Political activist Tehseen Poonawalla Thursday urged the Election Commission to debar BJP's Bhopal candidate Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from contesting the Lok Sabha polls as she was facing terror charges.

In a letter to the poll body, Poonawalla said the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had found Thakur to be the "principal conspirator" in the 2008 Malegaon blast in which six people were killed.

Her name has also cropped up in the Ajmer Dargah blast case, he said.

"I would humbly request the Election Commission of India to take further necessary steps to uphold the Model Code of Conduct 2019 and take appropriate action against Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and debar her from contesting elections," the letter read.

He said in his letter that "a candidate accused with terror links must not be permitted to contest elections."