Panchayat elections: Bajwa for e-filing of nominations

Monday, 15/04/2013

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130415/punjab.htm#8

Jalandhar : Expressing apprehensions of large-scale rigging in the upcoming panchayat elections, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa said the Congress would file a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Punjab and Haryana High Court for seeking e-filing of nomination papers and counting of votes at a common centre in each district.

Bajwa said he along with Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Sunil Jakhar would appear in person in the High Court to file the petition by Wednesday.

Addressing a public meeting on Dr BR Ambedkar’s birth anniversary here today, Bajwa said a meeting with senior lawyers would be held in Chandigarh on Monday.

Bajwa said the Congress would seek directions to the Punjab Government to allow e-filing of nomination papers to avoid their mass rejection on one pretext or the other at the behest of the ruling alliance and to hold the counting of votes at a common centre in each district in the presence of a senior official and representatives of various political parties. The PPCC would also urge the court to issue directions to the government to take adequate steps to check booth capturing and violence during the poll.

Lambasting the Badal government, Bajwa said the law and order situation in the state had gone from bad to worse as four ASIs had been shot dead in the last two months.

He said: “The ruling alliance has failed to fulfill even a single promise made by it during the assembly elections last year. There is no enhancement of benefits under various schemes. Instead beneficiaries of schemes like shagun have not been paid for the last two years”.

Flaying the Badal government for police action against protesting linemen near the SAD rally in Talwandi Sabo yesterday, Bajwa said the SAD had promised to provide Rs 1,000 as monthly allowance to unemployed youths, but it failed on this front as well. Jakhar alleged the ruling alliance had misused central funds, including Rs 109-crore post-metric scholarship money, meant for the welfare of Dalits.

Other present on the occasion included state Congress general secretary Fateh Singh Bajwa, MPs Mohinder Singh Kaypee and Santosh Chaudhary, former ministers Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, Santokh Singh Chaudhary, Amarjit Samra and Avtar Henry and PYC president Vikramjit Chaudhary.