EC upset Mulayam's applecart: Jaiswal

Kanpur, Mar 29 (UNI) Union State Minister for Home Sri Prakash Jaiswal today said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav was unhappy with the Election Commission (EC), since it had upset his applecart to win the coming UP polls.

Talking to UNI here, Mr Jaiswal said the EC was committed to conduct free and fair polls in the state, which had antagonised Mr Yadav. ''The EC has dismantled his arrangements aimed at winning the polls.'' After the poll notification, the EC had removed several top ranking administrative and police officials, including UP chief secretary Naveen Chandra Bajpai, principal secretary (home) Satish Chandra Agarwal, DGP Bua Singh and Kanpur DIG Rizwan Ahmad.

''The Congress is satisfied with the steps taken by the Commission in view of the UP polls to provide a secure environment to the electorate to cast their vote.'' The senior Congress leader alleged the ruling Samajwadi Party had joined hands with the BJP and both the parties had entered into an ''under-table'' pact.

''The SP and the BJP have fielded dummy candidates at several places to benefit each other by cutting into vote share of other parties.'' Mr Jaiswal claimed that the parties jointly wanted to defeat Congress at the hustings.

UNI