Mumbai: Milind Deora, the Congress candidate from the Mumbai south Lok Sabha constituency, Monday referred to criminal charges against his opponent and sitting Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant while asking voters if they wanted to be represented by a person with such a record.
Mr Deora said that there were 13 criminal charges against the Sena leader. He demanded that Mr Sawant explain if he tried to “abuse and misuse” his influence in the state to get the cases withdrawn.
According to Mr Deora’s affidavit, there is no criminal case pending against him. “The people of south Mumbai have to decide whether they want to vote and be represented in the Parliament by an individual who has a criminal record which demonstrates his disregard for law,” said Mr Deora. “Can such a person be sitting in parliament as a lawmaker representing the socially conscious and economically prestigious south Mumbai parliamentary constituency?” he asked.
The Mumbai Congress chief also tweeted that the Sena leader skipped 16 hearings of a fast track court set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to try elected representatives with criminal charges.
“Is this delay an attempt to put pressure on the government to withdraw charges?” Mr Deora said. He also highlighted that the Election Commission had made it mandatory for candidates, who had criminal records, to publish the same in three newspapers.
