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Punjab Police being misused to influence civic polls: Majithia
Akali leader Majithia accused the AAP government of misusing state machinery for upcoming polls, alleging police misconduct against his wife and party members.
Alleging that the AAP government is trying to influence the upcoming civic body polls by misusing the state machinery, senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Monday accused police of misbehaving with his wife and Majitha MLA Ganieve Kaur, a charge denied by the cops.
Addressing party workers in Majitha, the former minister alleged that a deputy superintendent of police (DSP)-rank officer behaved ‘inappropriately’ with his wife, and other women workers at the Majitha SDM office when they had gone there during election-related activities.
Congress’ Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar also came out in support of the Akali leader, condemning the police official’s alleged ‘misconduct’ against the woman MLA..
Majithia demanded the immediate suspension of the DSP and urged the state election commission to take notice of the incident.
“The concerned DSP should be transferred immediately to ensure fair elections. The ruling AAP government was exerting pressure on officials and obstructing SAD candidates during the poll process,” Majithia alleged.
Majithia added that he and his wife will also submit a written complaint against seeking disciplinary action against the DSP.
Majitha DSP Kamalmeet Singh Randhawa rejected the allegations and challenged Majithia to substantiate his claims.
“We were present there on the orders of the SDM. I complied with the directions and did nothing objectionable. Instead, the SAD leaders forcibly entered the office despite the SDM’s orders,” he said.
Gurdaspur MP said the state government should ensure fair elections instead of trying to silence the opposition voices.
“Reports of intimidation of a woman MLA and the arbitrary rejection of nomination papers of opposition candidates, especially across Malwa, expose the blatant misuse of police and administrative machinery,” Randhwa said in a post on X.
“The alleged misconduct by police officials has exposed the real face of the state government,” Jakhar claimed in a press statement.
Repeated attempts to contact AAP state chief spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, party halqa in-charge Talbir Singh Gill, state spokesperson Baltej Pannu and media in-charge Gurbhej Singh Sandhu for comments remained futile.
Meanwhile, a SAD delegation met the state election commissioner and alleged that the AAP government was using the no-objection certificate (NOC) system as a tool to prevent opposition candidates from filing nominations.
SAD spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler said the party would stage a dharna against the SEC if it failed to discharge its duties as per law.
Polling for 105 municipal bodies, including eight municipal corporations, will be held on May 26. Counting of votes will take place on May 29.
Oppn protests in Dhuri over ‘delay’ in candidate list
SANGRUR: The Congress, BJP and SAD staged a protest in Dhuri over the alleged delay in the release of the final list of candidates after the scrutiny of the nomination papers.
Former Dhuri MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy from the Congress, BJP’s Onkar Singh, former OSD to chief minister Bhagwant Mann, and leaders of the SAD accused the AAP government of attempting to hijack the upcoming civic body polls.
Goldy alleged that withholding the candidate list reflected the ruling party’s reluctance to hold fair polls.
According to reports, the list was released around 7:30pm. Alleging that several candidates’ nominations were rejected without assigning any reasons, Goldy said he planned to move the Punjab and Haryana high court over discrepancies in the poll process.
