MP: BJP MLA and Municipal corporation violated Model Code of Conduct; sent to jail

Violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) landed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Neemuch MLA and Municipality president in jail on Thursday.

The Neemuch court on Thursday found BJP MLA Dilip Singh Parihar and president of Neemuch municipality corporation Rakesh Pappu Jain guilty of the violation of MCC and denied bail. The court’s decision subsequently landed them into the jail till April 5.

This is the first time, since the MCC was imposed, that a legislator has been sent to jail for violating model code of conduct in Madhya Pradesh.

The court found that on March 23, MLA Parihar and corporation chief Jain organised a bike rally and fireworks show in Neemuch to celebrate the renomination of sitting MP Sudhir Gupta from the Mandsaur Lok Sabha constituency from BJP without the administration's permission.

District prosecution officer RR Choudhary said that court of Chief Judicial magistrate Neeraj Malviya found both Parihar and Jain guilty under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and denied bail to them. The court then sent them to jail.

However, the court granted bail to three others who were involved in the celebration -- Santosh Chopra, Ayush Kothari and Jeetu Talreja.

Seeing the violation of MCC, the EC flying squad filed a complaint with Neemuch Cantt police station, who lodged an FIR against Parihar and four others the next day.

The following day, the police arrested the MLA along with Neemuch Nagar Palika chief Rakesh Jain and three BJP workers. They moved bail pleas before the chief judicial magistrate. The court allowed bail to the workers but rejected pleas of Parihar and Jain who were jailed till April 5.

It is worth mentioning that, this is not the first time since MLA Parihar was booked for the violation of the MCC. During last December's assembly polls, Parihar was accused of violating the model code multiple times and had been warned by the Election Commission.