Lucknow:
The Congress accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday of putting pressure on the administration to tilt the bypoll results in the saffron party’s favour in the Gangoh Assembly seat and called for an impartial inquiry in the matter.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, currently on a visit to Rae Bareli and Amethi, said her party’s nominee was removed from the counting centre while the counting of votes was on and alleged that the district magistrate was being pressured over phone to reduce the Congress candidate’s lead.
Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Ajay Kumar Lallu charged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state with misusing official machinery and warned of launching an agitation against the “disrespect to the people’s mandate”.
In a tweet, Priyanka said, “The BJP is full of arrogance that it is trying to change the decision of the people by reducing the Congress candidate’s margin at the counting centre in Gangoh. A BJP minister in Uttar Pradesh has called the DM five times to direct him to reduce the lead. This is an insult to democracy.”
“The Uttar Pradesh Congress will fight this out strongly. The Election Commission should hold a thorough impartial inquiry into the incident,” she said.
A Congress delegation, led by party leader Siddhartpriya Srivastava, met Election Commission (EC) officials here to lodge a complaint regarding the role of the Saharanpur district administration in allegedly ensuring the victory of the BJP candidate.
“Till the 27th round, the Congress candidate was leading by 4,753 votes and then the DM, on the instigation of the government, got the counting stopped and the candidate and counting agents to leave the counting centre,” Lallu said.
“On the other hand, a BJP minister goes inside the campus when no one is allowed to go inside. Journalists were also removed. What does all this indicate?,” he asked.
“The BJP, on the strength of power and the administration, has conspired to tilt the results in its favour and we condemn it,” the state Congress chief said.
Stressing that his party had taken a serious note of the matter, he said any move that showed disrespect to the people’s mandate and killed democracy would be opposed strongly.
The government had made the winner on the seat lose the battle with the help of power and deceit, Lallu alleged.
Congress workers had already launched an agitation at the counting centre in Saharanpur and the party would decide its future course of action soon, he said.
