SILCHAR, April 5: The three political parties, BJP, AGP and AIUDF, together at a press meet today brought serious allegations of intimidation, rigging, booth capturing by Congress goons in several polling booths of Lakhipur constituency from where Dinesh Prasad Goala, sitting MLA and Minister of Urban Development and Housing, contested. Reena Singh of BJP, Dwijamani Singh of AGP and Chouba Mia of AIUDF addressed the press meet.
The leaders in identical manner cited specific instances of how the democratic polling process was subverted by the supporters and henchmen of Dinesh Prasad Goala. According to them, in the polling station 91 at Lalang Part IV, the Congress men tore away the voters' lists maintained by their agents. In thepolling booth 148 at Jirighat, they alleged the presiding officer did not allow a group of voters on the groundthat they were classified as 'D'.
Continuing their allegations, they saidin 1111 Tilka tea garden polling station, Congress goondas forcibly entered the booth, undermining security, and pulled out their polling agents. Referring to the polling booths88 and 89 located at Ghantagram Part I and II, it was a brazenly open rigging of votes, throwing all election guidelines to the forewind. They also alleged how voters were influenced to vote for Congress by distributing money in Ghantagram areas.
The other polling booths where large scale rigging and other malpractices took place, as they pointed out, were Tarini Mohan LP Model School 84, Rupaibali LP Schools 16 and 17 and Lalang tea garden 71 and 72. In Shibpur 82 polling booth, the voting machine, they said, recorded casting of votes on April 3, a day ahead of the election date. The polling booths 94 and 95 recorded abnormal percentageof votes which, the leaders alleged, were around 80 to 90 per cent whereas the Election Commission guidelines speak of critical monitoringand to classify such booths as 'critical'.
The serious most allegation was in respect of the 160 Turkuipunji centre on North Cachar Hills border from where when the electronic voting machine was brought for deposit at the ISBT election office was found to be with tampered seal and open. When the attention of the returning officer was drawn to it, he refused to entertain it, they further alleged. Theyalso submitted written complaints about malpractices in two centres of Binnakandi to the returning officer, but these were also not recorded. Nor did the observer take any cognizance of their complaints. (SentinelAssam)
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