In Azamgarh, Moradabad, SP workers created ruckus when they found plain ballot papers
Azamgarh/Moradabad (UP):
Samajwadi Party workers on Wednesday claimed to have recovered a plain ballot paper from a vehicle and protested against it, accusing the government machinery of malpractices in Azamgarh and Moradabad. In a tweet from its official Twitter account, SP claimed that 10,000 seven ballot papers were caught from a vehicle numbered Varanasi in Azamgarh. The SP said in the tweet, “The vehicle going inside the strong room after turning off the lights was stopped by the ready SP workers at the gate. At whose behest was the ballot paper being carried? What was the purpose? Election commission please clarify.
On the instructions of SP President Akhilesh Yadav, a delegation led by the party’s state unit president Naresh Uttam Patel and national secretary Rajendra Chaudhary met the Election Commission (EC) officials in Lucknow in connection with the recovery of ballot papers. The delegation also gave a written complaint. A copy of this has also been sent to the Chief Election Commissioner. However, Azamgarh District Election Officer Amrit Tripathi told that it was the vehicle of the BDO (Block Development Officer). He told that the postal ballot papers are not used in the election and they have to be deposited along with the ballot paper used in the election, but the BDO did not submit it.
He said that while taking immediate action against the BDO in this regard, there are many recommendations for his suspension from the commission. Entire matter will be investigated. At the same time, there was a huge uproar in Moradabad after the Tehsildar was allegedly caught with two ballot boxes kept in a vehicle near the strong room located in Mandi Committee. Former SP district president Jaiveer Singh Yadav told reporters, “Dharmendra, Tehsildar of Bilari, reached the strong room area in a vehicle of Bilari municipality. The ballot boxes were hidden under the mattresses kept inside the vehicle.
Singh alleged, “The tehsildar misbehaved with the SP agents when he tried to stop them from entering the EVM strong room and they also tried to take the ballot boxes inside.” More plain ballots claimed to be inside the boxes, alleging that they were to be replaced by postal ballots. Moradabad District Magistrate Shailendra Kumar Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bablu Kumar reached the Mandi Committee and pacified the protesters.
“They were unused ballot papers and the boxes were sealed. However, it was a mistake on the part of those concerned to try to shift the unused ballot papers to a safer place. In view of the circumstances, the Tehsildar has been relieved of his responsibility.
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