Ruling party denying Opposition right to contest, alleges Shiromani Akali Dal

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today complained to the state Election Commission that the panchayat election process had been completely controlled by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

A SAD delegation led by Dr Daljit Singh Cheema and including NK Sharma, Arshdeep Kler, Harjit Bhullar and SS Walah, submitted a memorandum to state Election Commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhary detailing how Opposition candidates had been denied their right to contest the panchayat poll.

It demanded justice for Opposition candidates who had been prevented from filing their nomination papers as well as those whose nomination papers were rejected despite being in order.

They demanded that senior officers be posted as observers in all districts and that the entire election process be videographed in all booths. They also demanded strict action against AAP leaders as well as government officials who had failed to do their constitutional duty and had worked as henchmen of AAP ministers and legislators.

Giving details, Cheema said on the appeal of the party, hundreds of candidates, whose nomination papers had been rejected or who were weeded out during scrutiny on some false pretext, had approached the party’s legal cell with their complaints.

Cheema said in Dera Bassi, the candidature of 91 persons for the post of sarpanch and 204 for the post of panch had been rejected. He said in Kurli village, the entire Opposition had withdrawn their candidature when all the nominations of Opposition candidates for the post of sarpanch had been rejected.

He also gave the example of Chhapar Chhiri village in Mohali where the nomination of candidate Rajbir Kaur — who did not have a water connection — was rejected on the plea that she did not secure an NOC for her water bill.

Cheema said at Kotli Bhan Singh in Batala, the papers of two candidates for the post of sarpanch and 14 for the post of panch had been rejected. At Dera Bassi, the papers of panch Jaswinder Kaur were rejected because “she had made a ramp to access her house” when there was no such ramp on the ground.