‘How much lower?’: Sena UBT fumes as poll officials check Uddhav Thackeray’s bags again | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray was further investigated by poll officials on Tuesday, a day after his bags were searched when his helicopter landed in Yavatmal in Maharashtra.
A team of poll watchers checked Thackeray’s bags ahead of his rally in Latur Model code of conduct is in effect.
In a video shared by Sena (UBT) on
“How much lower will the ‘Election Commission’ go?” the party says in its latest message.

Former Maharashtra minister Aditya Thackeray also reacted to the incident and accused the poll party of deliberately targeting the party chief to postpone his campaign rallies.
Aditya told being searched this year? way?”

“What a disgrace this institution has become,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission responded to the allegations of selective frisking and said enforcement agencies were following strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure a level playing field for all parties.
“Planes and helicopters of top leaders across the political spectrum are being checked as part of the standard operating procedure (SOP),” sources in the Election Commission said, news agency PTI reported.
“Strict SOPs have been followed by enforcement agencies for a level playing field. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a similar issue was raised in Bihar, and it was clarified that the helicopters of prominent leaders including Nadda in Bhagalpur on April 24 and Shah in Katihar on April 21 were also checked as per the SOP “, the sources said.
This comes a day after Uddhav Thackeray questioned the Election Commission, asking whether it would dare to rummage in the bags of BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, during the ongoing election campaign.

“The way you inspected my bag, you also inspected Modi and Shah’s bags?” he asked, adding, “Shouldn’t the bags of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis be checked?”
“All these useless things are happening. I don’t consider it democratic. This cannot be a democracy. In a democracy, no one is big or small,” Thackeray said.
He further said that if the election authorities do not inspect the bags of senior leaders of the ruling alliance, the workers of Shiv Sena (UBT) and opposition party MVA will do so.