Bhopal: Congress on Thursday asked the Chief Election Commissioner to remove the officers from the election duty who were engaged in 2013 Assembly polls and 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Congress leader led by state president Kamal Nath in a complaint to CEC in New Delhi raised the issue of ‘inefficiency of electoral officers including booth-level officers and others’.
The party leaders sought compliance to the order of the chief election officer dated May 21, 2018, in which it is stated that ‘all the officers appointed for election related work in 2013 assembly election or 2014 parliamentary elections were directed to be transferred to other places in the year 2018’.
Asking the shifting of the officials deployed for poll work in past, Congress leaders also asked the Commission to provide them a copy of transfers to enable them to do physical verifications of the same. They alleged that BLOs were involved in manipulating voters’ list at behest of BJP workers.
They also alleged that BLOs in connivance with BJP booth-level agents were engaged in deleting the names of voters having allegiance to Congress ideology. Congress urged ECI to direct all electoral officers in the state, ‘to reply to the queries and concerns raised by MPCC preferably within 24 hours’. They also sought removal illegitimate voters from the voters list and to take necessary action to conduct a free and fair assembly polls in the state.
‘BJP misusing govt machinery’
The party also submitted a memorandum to CEC alleging ‘misuse of government machinery for political purpose by the ruling BJP for upcoming assembly elections’. They said that the government was misusing public money for its political motives and gains. Congress urged the commission to restrain the government from using official machinery of the state and also direct the government from employing minor children for political rallies and campaigns.
