It is Congress' habit to make allegations like 'vote theft' to save face after defeat: Dhami

Gairsain (U'khand), Aug 19 (PTI) Taking on the Congress over its allegations of rigging in the recent panchayat elections in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday said it has become the opposition party's habit to make allegations like "vote theft" and EVM hacking to save face after the defeat.

Talking to reporters here, the chief minister said that panchayat elections have been held in a fair manner in the entire state and action is being taken at one or two places where there were some law and order issues.

"Where the Congress wins, there is no irregularity (according to the party)," he said, citing the example of the Congress winning the election to the posts of Dehradun district panchayat president and block pramukh in Bajpur.

Dhami said, "It has become a habit for them that wherever they lose, they take the help of EVMs to save their face; sometimes they blame the Election Commission, sometimes they hold the administration and the government responsible and sometimes they start talking about vote theft." He said that the public knows very well how votes were stolen during the Congress rule.

"In Nainital, our party's candidate Deepa Darmwal has been elected to the post of district panchayat president and Congress has been elected to the post of vice president. If this was not a fair election, both the posts would have gone to the BJP," he said.

The Congress had accused the ruling BJP of kidnapping some of its Zila Panchayat members to prevent them from casting their votes in the election in Nainital and their family members had approached the Uttarakhand High Court, which is hearing the matter.

Dhami said that apart from the panchayat elections, the Congress is "filled with frustration and disappointment due to the huge victory" of the BJP in all the elections, including Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.

"The way the people of Uttarakhand have entrusted the responsibility of development of urban and rural areas to the BJP, it is natural for them to be disappointed," Dhami said.

The Congress created a ruckus in the Monsoon session of the state assembly, which started on Tuesday, demanding immediate discussion on the alleged "rigging" of panchayat elections and the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state.

Referring to this, Dhami said that their "frustration and disappointment" was visible even in such an important session.

Describing the behaviour of the Congress in the House as "unfortunate", he said, "People's issues should have been discussed in the House and we had come prepared for it.

"But the way the opposition has broken the tables today, the way they have made paper effigies and thrown them in front of the (Assembly) Speaker, it is very unfortunate." He also said that the opposition, which "itself has flouted the law and order in the House, is demanding a discussion on law and order".

"Today the whole state is seeing what kind of act has happened inside the House for the first time here," the chief minister said. PTI DPT RT