2012 code violation lands Congress nominee in prison for 5 months

Jammu, August 30

A court in Uttar Pradesh has convicted Congress candidate from Banihal and former Jammu and Kashmir chief Vikar Rasool Wani to five months’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on him for violating the model code of conduct (MCC) during the 2012 Assembly elections in the state.

The conviction came as a shock to the Congress party, which is banking on Wani, who is a two-time MLA from the Banihal seat. Banihal is one of the five constituencies in J&K, where the NC and Congress will have a ‘friendly fight’ and not an alliance.

As per reports, during the 2012 Assembly poll, a public meeting was organised without permission at Junior High School in Mithepur village of UP.

Talking to mediapersons, Wani said when he was a Youth Congress leader and MLA, he went to a rally in UP, where people were sitting in a school. This was reported to the Election Commission by someone, he said

He claimed that no summons were issued to him until this year in the case.

“Nine out of 13 accused in the case were only fined by the court. However, the court gave its decision and I was convicted. I got a bail and the matter was shifted to a higher court. In J&K, generally a warning in given in such cases,” he said. The Congress candidate said he was pressing for the shifting of the case to a court in the Union Territory.

“It is not a major issue as there were no evidences. No eyewitness identified me, but we cannot go against the court’s decision,” he said.