UP Block Pramukh Election 2021: Woman manhandled, saree yanked by two men

Lucknow, July 09: As nominations for the posts of the block panchayat head were filed in all 75 Uttar Pradesh districts on Thursday, a disturbing video has emerged where a Samajwadi party worker was manhandled and her saree yanked by two men from a rival party.

The incident took place in the Lakhimpur Kheri district of the state.

According to the reports, the woman was reportedly accompanying a candidate who was filing nominations for the upcoming block panchayat polls.

They also snatched the candidate's nomination papers to stop her from filing them in time.

Taking to Twitter, the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav shared the disturbing video and claimed that the miscreants were from the ruling BJP.

"The ruling BJP has held the law and order of Uttar Pradesh hostage. The people belonging to the ruling party are openly throttling democracy and police, administration is watching this murder of democracy as mute spectators", Yadav alleged.

He also claimed that former Uttar Pradesh Assembly speaker Mata Prasad Pandey's car was damaged in Siddharthnagar district's Itwa block.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too accused BJP workers of indulging in violence, alleging that democracy was being "ripped off" in the state.

"PM sahab and CM sahab should also congratulate" on how their workers in UP indulged in stone-pelting and firing, looted nomination papers, beat up journalists and "misbehaved with women. By blind-folding the law and order system, democracy is being ripped off," Congress general secretary Priyanka Vadra said sharing a video of the violence on Twitter.

The State Election Commission had on July 5 issued the notification for the elections, for which nominations were filed between 11 am to 3 pm on Thursday. The last date to withdraw the candidature is July 9. Voting will be held on July 10 from 11 am to 3 pm and the counting will be held after that on the same day.