Shimla: Getting tough on surrogate campaigning that violate political party or a candidates permitted expenditure in any constituency, the Election Commission of India banned Baba Ramdev from endorsing election candidates or their relatives in Himachal Pradesh wherever he holds his yoga camps.
“We are not permitting any surrogate campaigning in the garb of holding yoga camps that Baba Ramdev has been doing, where an election candidate or his or her relative is endorsed” said Narinder Chauhan, chief electoral officer, Himachal Pradesh.
“Should there be any violation, we will not hesitate to register a case under section 188 of IPC for disobeying orders of a public authority,” said Chauhan.
Openly endorsing Narinder Modi as the prime ministerial candidate, Baba Ramdev programs in Lucknow were stalled by Election Commission till elections get over. In Himachal he was scheduled to hold yoga camps in Chamba and Dalhousie that have been banned till elections are over.
The yoga guru also finds himself up against the law for having made a controversial remark by stating in Patna on April 25 that “Rahul Gandi goes to houses of Dalits for honeymoon and picnic.”
Various parties have registered cases at Lucknow and Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh, Ahemdabad in Gujarat and Patna in Bihar over the ‘anti-Dalit’ remarks.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
