Lucknow: In a strong protest against the alleged display of arms during a procession of Bahujan Samaj Party's Sultanpur MP Mohammad Tahir Khan, the Congress on Thursday demanded that a case be filed against him for flouting the model code of conduct.
In a fax to the Chief Election Commissioner's office in New Delhi and the state Chief Electoral Officer in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Congess Committee (UPCC) spokesman, Akhilesh Pratap Singh, claimed that Khan's supporters openly carried weapons during his "welcome procession" at Sultanpur on Wednesday in violation of the model code of conduct.
The fax, sent just a day after opposition parties had asked the EC to keep a tab on the ruling BSP to ensure free and fair polls in Uttar Pradesh, also demanded action against the district administration for remaining a mute spectator all along.
Singh said his party was concerned that a number of "muscle men" have entered the poll fray as ruling party nominees and as such conducting free and fair elections would be a challenge for the commission.
At a meeting on Wednesday with the CEC, N Gopalaswamy, and his two other colleagues opposition parties had demanded that the EC maintain extra vigil in UP as the ruling party may try to rig the polls.
Singh said that though there had been a number of cases where BSP members had been displaying their power on the roads, the latest of Khan doing so in Sultanpur comes at a time when the entire Election Commission is in the state to assess poll preparations and was thus indicative of the importance that the ruling party and its leaders give to rules and regulations.
Singh said that there are reports pouring in from districts all over the state of the government machinery flouting rules to please their political bosses and terrorising the people, specially the minorities.
He said the party was collecting the facts and would apprise the commission of it soon.
During their meeting with the EC, the opposition parties had requested it to deploy additional central forces.
"We have requested the EC to keep an eye on activities of ministers of the ruling BSP, who will use every trick to ensure victory of their candidates. They can also influence state police as their government was ruling the state," senior BJP leader Hriday Narain Dixit had said on Wednesday after coming out of the meeting at Raj Bhavan.
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