Akali-BJP using terror tactics: Bhattal

Chandigarh, Jun 21 (UNI) Punjab Congress President Rajinder Kaur Bhattal today alleged that the Akali-BJP alliance was using terror tactics against the Congress workers and leaders in the municipal polls.

"In Bathinda where elections for the municipal corporation will be held tomorrow, a large number of un-identified persons who are activists of Akali Dal and so-called Students Organisation of India are roaming in the streets to terrorise the people," Ms Bhattal said.

"The state police has failed to infuse confidence among the people of the city who are under constant fear and threats." Regarding rigging in the municipal elections in the state she alleged that Badals had imported "new technique of grabbing elections of the grass root level democratic institutions".

"First of all they pressurise the prospective candidates of other parties through government agencies to refrain from filing nominations. Secondly, when they fail to do so they get the nominations of the strong opposition candidates either rejected or cancelled by the Returning Officers on flimsy grounds," she alleged. "Never before in the democratic history such a large number of nomination papers have been rejected by the Election Authorities in the country," she added.

"If some one gets through this obstacle too, he is subjected to police terrorism or get threats from the new outfit of the Badals the Students Organisation of India." "They must remember that they can grab elections but can not hearts of the people they are hurting," she said.

She said the party had written to the State Election Commission against the illegalities being committed by the government officials deployed on election duty and also to deploy para-military forces and arrange for videography of the polling.

"The Party has also approached the National Human Rights Commission to asses the ground position in Punjab where democracy has been subverted and its agencies have been subdued by making a mockery of the election process," Ms Bhattal said.

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