Union Home Minister Amit Shah's bags were checked by Election Commission (EC) officials in Maharashtra's Hingoli district on Friday, in the latest of a series of examinations of the luggage of high-profile political leaders visiting the poll-bound state, amid allegations that only the Opposition was being targeted.
In a post on X, Mr Shah shared a video of polling officials checking his luggage in the chopper as he arrived at Hingoli assembly seat to address an election rally.
"Today, during my election campaign in Hingoli Assembly constituency of Maharashtra, my helicopter was inspected by Election Commission officials. BJP believes in fair elections and healthy election system and follows all the rules made by the Honourable Election Commission," he said, as he posted a video of the search on the micro-blogging platform.
"We all must contribute to a healthy election system and perform our duties in keeping India as the strongest democracy in the world," he added.
The developments came at a time when bags of several politicians, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, party's Maharashtra President Nana Patole, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy, Devendra Fadnavis, have been frisked by polling officials in the western state in the last five days.
On Monday, a political row erupted after Mr Thackeray's luggage was checked by polling officials, as he travelled across the state to campaign for the November 20 elections. His luggage has been checked at least three more times since then, sparking a huge row between his faction of the Sena and the rival group led by Mr Shinde.
At one point, Mr Thackeray was seen grilling a polling official who was waiting to search the former's bags as he deboarded his chopper. In a gruff tone, the Shiv Sena (UBT) boss sought to know the officer's name (Mahesh Shani) and see his ID card.
Mr Thackeray also said the EC does not search bags of leaders from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or the Mahayuti alliance - a claim that was dismissed by polling officials, who said the frisking was a "routine procedure" ahead of the polls.
Amid the controversy, Sena leader Sanjay Raut had sought to know if the luggage of Mr Shinde and his deputies, Mr Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Shah were checked in a similar manner.
To counter the Opposition's claims, the Maharashtra BJP on Wednesday posted a video on X showing the checking of Mr Fadnavis' bags, and said merely holding the Constitution for "show" is not enough and one must also follow the constitutional system - a dig at the Congress over a controversy involving its party MP Rahul Gandhi. Mr Shinde's luggage was also checked on Wednesday at Palghar Police ground helipad as part of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
In an exclusive interview with NDTV on Wednesday, Mr Shinde said it was a routine procedure for EC officials to carry out such checks. "So why the fuss and why the fear? We don't create videos and post. They are doing their job, we are doing ours," he said.
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