The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to approach the Supreme Court over the High Court’s decision to restrict physical political gatherings ahead of the upcoming by-elections to 28 seats due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A High Court division bench yesterday asked magistrates in nine districts under its jurisdiction not to give permission to any candidate or political party to hold public gatherings without compelling reasons.
In a video message today, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan apologized to residents of Ashok Nagar, where he was scheduled to attend two political rallies. The rallies had to be called off following the High Court order yesterday.
Yesterday, while ordering the first briefing reports to be filed against Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and former chief minister Kamal Nath, Gwalior’s division bench also called for strict restrictions on gatherings policies.
Permission to rally can only be granted if the political party or candidate is able to convince the magistrate that a virtual election campaign is not possible, the court said.
In the event that a physical gathering is allowed, it can only take place when the party or candidate deposits sufficient funds with the district magistrate for double the required number of masks and disinfectants for participants, the court added. .
