Palghar (Maharashtra): Amid the ongoing political row over a routine check of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray's luggage by Election Commission of India (ECI), Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's luggage was also checked on Wednesday at Palghar Police ground helipad as part of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Eknath Shinde arrived in Palghar for an Assembly election campaign where ECI officials, as a security precaution, checked CM's bags and helicopter after it landed.
This development comes after Uddhav Thackeray expressed anger over the checking of his bags and asked whether the ECI officials checked the bags of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar.
Nationalist Congress Party - Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) leader Supriya Sule also condemned the incident and called it "dirty politics."
Supriya Sule said Thackeray's bags were checked twice, while the bags of politicians in power were not checked like this.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Sule said, "How is it possible that only opposition leaders' bags are checked? Uddhav Thackeray's bags were checked twice. No checking of the leaders in power is done. Such dirty politics is being done in Maharashtra."
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However, sources in the Election Commission clarified that enforcement agencies are strictly following SOPs to maintain a level playing field.
During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a similar issue was raised in Bihar. It was clarified then that helicopters of prominent leaders, including BJP National President JP Nadda, were checked by enforcement agencies.
Specifically, Nadda's helicopter was inspected in Bhagalpur on April 24, 2024, and Home Minister Amit Shah's helicopter was checked in Katihar on April 21, 2024, as per SOP.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, during the announcement of the ongoing assembly elections, also emphasized that enforcement agencies have been directed to check the helicopters of all leaders to ensure a level playing field.
This move aims to prevent any undue influence or misuse of power during the elections and to maintain fairness and transparency in the electoral process.
—ANI