NEW DELHI: A high-level Bharatiya Janata Party delegation met the Chief Election Commissioner, T.N. Seshan, on Sept.10and demanded an inquiry into the alleged-bunglings in the Punjab civic poll.
The delegation comprising the party vice-presidents, Krishan Lal Sharma and Dr.Baldev Prakash, its secretary, Madan Lal Khurana, and the Punjab state BJP chief, Madan Mohan Mittal, also called on Ajit Panja, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, and protested against the “one-sided and partisan” approach of the official media which was projecting the Congress as the party that swept the civic polls.
Addressing a Press conference later, members of the delegation cited the following instances of bunglings: kidnapping of a BJP candidate, Madhu Goyal, from Patiala with the help of a minister and the release of a statement by the political secretary of the minister claiming her withdrawal from the contest, beating up another party candidate, Nirmala Devi and her 14-yr-old son by the police for raising a voice against the driver of a police vehicle under which a pedestrian was crushed, and threats given by the personal assistant of the Chief Minister, Beant Singh, his son, and a minister in Ward No 2.at Doraha to candidates and their polling agents asking them to leave and forcing voters to cast their votes in favor of the Congress.
They said that in spite of these “underhand means” the Congress suffered a “glaring setback.” They disputed the Chief Minister, Beant Singh’s claim that the Congress was in a position to capture 70% committees saying that it could not be substantiated by facts and figures. In 22 municipal committees, the Congress could not win even a single seat, they said.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 25, 1992
