JALANDHAR: Powerful pressures on India’s election commission headed by T.N.Seshan prevented the Jalandhar Lok Sabha election from being countermanded; the commission virtually permitted the Indian authorities to indulge in irregularities and corrupt practices to win the election.
The commission had given a notice to the Punjab govt. to explain why action should not be taken on account of the chief minister and other ministers indulging incorrupt practices to win the election. Specific charges against Beant Singh and his colleagues were that they violated the code of election conduct by promising several projects to voters while the election process was on, The Punjab officers gave an evasive reply while Beant Singh and his friends went about to demolish all traces of foundation stones of the projects they had publicly laid.
When the commission tended to disbelieve the Punjab government’s reply regarding the allegations, the chief minister tried another strategy, He directly contacted the prime minister who, according to reports, signalled Seshan not to cancel the election because that will not be in India’s national interest. The government wants to use the Jalandhar result to mount a powerful international campaign against Sikhs in one form or the other.
Interestingly, the commission was approached by two Congress (I) members of Indian Parliament, Surinder Singh Kairon and Jagmeet Singh Brar, who endorsing the opposition charges that the Punjab government is not holding the election in a free and fair manner.
Thus the commission buried all charges against the Punjab chief minister and his ministerial colleagues under the carpet. These charges stood proved with several newspapers giving specific details of how foundation stones of projects had been demolished by the government to remove proof. On similar charges, the commission had earlier countermanded the election at Kalka constituency of the Haryana Assembly where chief minister Bhajan Lal’s son tried to contest.
Meanwhile, four main contestant parties in Jalandhar who emerged at the end of the campaigning were Bahujan Samaj Party which has the backing of both C.P.(M) and C.P.1., the Congress(I), the Akali Dal (Badal) and the Akali Dal (Mann).
The fifth party with sizeable vote strength is the BJP which is also in the field. Any one of the first four is in a position to win. A point of interest is the voting strength of the two Akali Dals in the election.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 21, 1993
