Shillong, March 27: The National People’s Party (NPP) secretary IB Pandey lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India against Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma for his “death wish” statement on former Lok Sabha Speaker and the party’s Tura Lok Sabha candidate Purno Agitok Sangma.
The chief minister had on the course of a press conference on March 20 had said that the NPP candidate Purno A Sangma,who is also a national president of the party, had decided to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls from Tura because he wanted to grab something “before he dies”.
Mukul had used Garo words ‘cha.e siangna’ which in English mean, “Before I (Purno) die, let me grab something.”
Viewing the chief minister’s statement as a “threat” Pandey requested Sampath to increase the security cover of Purno Agitok Sangma .
Pandey also requested the ECI to utilise the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system for the April 9 elections in the Tura parliamentary constituency so that any attempt to manipulate the votes are nipped in the bud
The VVPAT is an independent verification system for voting machines. It is designed to allow voters to verify if their votes have been cast correctly. The technology also provides room to detect possible election fraud or malfunction and audit the stored electronic results.
Purno A Sangma will be locking horns with Congress nominee Daryl William Cheran Momin from the Tura parliamentary seat.
In his complaint letter to Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath, Pandey said, “The chief minister has directly threatened our leader (P.A. Sangma) by predicting his death. Not only is this statement unacceptable from a chief minister, but it also reflects his intentions. We would like to formally lodge a complaint against the chief minister for such derogatory remarks, and appeal that appropriate action be taken against him.”
Buttering the request for implementing the VVPAT system for the Tura parliamentary polls, Pandey said the chidef minister’s statement reinforces the NPP’s demand for the use of VVPAT. He said, “If the chief minister can give a threat, he is also capable of going to any extent to win this election, which includes manipulating the electronic voting machines.”
The NPP requested that around 1500 machines could be used for Tura keeping in mind the prevailing law and order situation in the Garo Hills. Pandey said, “We have submitted letters and documents to show how grave the situation is, and if proper measures are not taken, there is a chance of manipulation during the voting process.”
Pandey said that the use of VVPAT system would eliminate the chances of any possible manipulation by any group or by those in the seat of power. – By Our Reporter
+ There are no comments
Add yours