SAD-BJP accuse Cong of rigging, misuse of power

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, February 25

Charging the ruling party with brazen misuse of power and government machinery in the Municipal Corporation elections here on Saturday, the SAD-BJP coalition has outrightly rejected the polls saying the Congress had murdered democracy by resorting to all possible means to rig the poll.

Addressing a joint press conference here today, senior leaders of the two parties, SAD-B vice-president and party spokesperson Maheshinder Singh Grewal said with widespread violence, bogus voting, booth capturing, intimidation of voters and total inaction on the part of the district and police administration witnessed during the civic election in the city, it was a ‘black day’ in the democratic history.

The two parties demanded that if the ruling Congress had even a bit of moral courage, it should cancel the elections and hold fresh poll under the supervision of central security forces.

Grewal said the leadership of the alliance would meet the Punjab Governor in Chandigarh on Monday and apprise him with the hooliganism, highhandedness and gross irregularities committed by the Congress leaders to tilt the results in their favour. 

“We shall demand from the Governor to intervene and restore the rule of law in the state. The two parties might boycott the counting of votes on Tuesday, but a final decision would be announced in this regard after meeting with the Governor,” he said.

The SAD-BJP leaders, in one voice termed Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and legislator Bharat Bhushan Ashu as the leaders of the elements who wreaked havoc on the poll promise. They said Bittu had misused official security provided to him to intimidate supporters and candidates of opposition parties and similarly supporters of Ashu resorted to strong arms tactics, especially in those wards from where his wife and brother were contesting.

Citing example of the failure of the police and district authorities to curb the ‘goonda gardi’ by ruling party, Grewal and other leaders said the police had registered 62 FIRs – all of them either against the candidates of opposition parties or their supporters, while the main culprits – the Congress leaders and their goons, went scot free.

SAD-BJP leaders made it clear that they would not take the highhandedness by the Congress party lying down and the two parties would launch a joint struggle to expose the misdeeds and real face of the ruling party.

Among others, the SAD-B general secretary Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, former minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, former BJP state president Rajinder Bhandari, district presidents of the two parties Ranjit Singh Dhillon and Ravinder Arora were also present at the occasion.

Cong refutes claim

Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, however, refuted the allegations levelled by the SAD-BJP leaders. He said polling for the MC election was duly videographed at all polling booths and observers of the State Election Commission were also keeping an eye on the voting process. “The opposition parties are levelling baseless and vague charges perhaps because they have realised that they will lose. The outburst against the ruling party is nothing else but their frustration over rejection by voters,” he said.