Goa Bribery sting on TV channel: TMC, AAP lodge plaints against each other

Panaji: On the eve of polling in Goa, the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday lodged complaints against each over a sting operation video broadcast on a television channel.

The channel had broadcast a video claiming one TMC and three Congress candidates had taken bribes to change their party affiliation in case they win the Assembly polls scheduled for February 14.

AAP Panaji candidate Valmiki Naik said his party filed a complaint with the chief electoral officer of the state so that authorities are made aware of the video. TMC Benaulim candidate Churchill Alemao, who is one of the persons accused of taking the bribe as per the video, lodged a complaint with the chief electoral officer demanding that the clip be removed from all platforms, and also filed an FIR against AAP and the TV channel.

Alemao claimed AAP had violated the "silent period", the phase between the end of campaigning, which in Goa's case was Saturday evening, and voting, which is scheduled for Monday. Naik denied the silent period had been violated claiming he had not indulged in any kind of campaigning.

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev also filed a complaint against Naik and AAP Delhi MLA Atishi, who is the party's Goa desk in charge. Dev demanded that AAP delete a tweet which had the offending video and remove posts in this connection on other social media platforms. When contacted, Goa chief electoral officer Kunal said the action will be taken on the complaints as per the Representation of the People Act.