Bajwa wants central forces ‘for fair polls’
Friday, 20/02/2015
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa on Thursday demanded deployment of central security forces “to ensure free and fair polls” to the civic bodies. He also took a dig over the recent clash between ruling partners SAD and BJP in Tarn Taran.
In his demand to the Punjab state election commission, Bajwa said the Congress had completely lost trust in the state police “which is just an extension of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)”.
“If Akali workers could beat up the brother of BJP cabinet minister Anil Joshi, one can well imagine the plight of Congress candidates,” he quipped, adding that the demand was being made “in view of the number of untoward incidents that happened in the ongoing process of the civic elections, including in the process of nominations”.
“The brute force of the ruling SAD-BJP combine and its hooligans and goons are playing havoc with the democratic process,” he claimed, and also attached some media clippings on the alleged highhandedness of the ruling combine.
“The voters and Congress candidates are being openly threatened and intimated. The threats to frame Congress candidates and workers have not only remained threats, as false cases are being registered daily,” he claimed.
In a similar situation in West Bengal, central security forces were deployed for the civic elections in 2010, Bajwa said in the memorandum.
Meanwhile, on the question of Congress MLAs demanding his resignation as PPCC chief, Bajwa said everyone knew who was behind it, “But I am a fighter. I will not run away, come what may, for the interest of the party and the trust posed in me by the high command.”
