BJP questions fairness of Panchayat polls in UP

Lucknow, Oct 20: The BJP on Tuesday questioned the fairness of the ongoing Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh and accused the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) of trying to arm-twist officials.

Referring to the recent incidents in Mainpuri and Etah, where senior SP leaders were video-recorded capturing booths and intimidating officials on duty, Bharatiya Janata Party's state spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said the government was siding with lumpen elements and law breakers.

He said this was evident as senior minister Shivpal Singh Yadav on Monday shared dais with Totaram Yadav, who was seen on a video tape involved in bogus voting.

"There is an FIR against Totaram Yadav and the Mainpuri police are saying that his whereabouts were not known and here he is seen sitting with the uncle of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav," he said.

The BJP leader accused SP leaders of trying to browbeat the bureaucracy into submission.

The brother of a SP legislator in Etah was recently taped threatening a senior police officer, who had asked him not to crowd the polling booth.

IANS