Punjab rural polls: AAP 'abusing' power to stop rivals from filing nomination, claims opposition

Chandigarh, Dec 4 (PTI) The opposition Congress and BJP on Thursday lashed out at the AAP government in Punjab, accusing it of indulging in "brutal abuse of power" to prevent rival candidates from filing nominations for the December 14 Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls.

They claimed that nomination papers of some opposition candidates were torn or snatched away, allegedly at the behest of the ruling party.

Thursday was the last day for filing nominations for the polls. Counting of votes will be held on December 17.

In Patiala's Ghanaur, former Congress MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur alleged that two party candidates were prevented from filing nominations for the Shambhu block. He alleged that party candidate Joni Devi's file was snatched and torn, allegedly by AAP supporters at the nomination filing centre.

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring shared a video on a social media platform and claimed that a man allegedly snatched the nomination paper of a woman candidate of the Congress and fled.

He called it shameful and asked, "Is this honest politics?" "If AAP Punjab cannot win, snatching papers of the opposition is the only option left," the Congress leader said.

Warring, later in a statement, alleged the ruling AAP was indulging in "brutal abuse of power" during the filing of nomination papers.

"This only shows the writing on the wall that the AAP has lost ground and realised it too. That is why it is resorting to such desperate attempts of misusing police and official machinery," he claimed in a statement.

The Ludhiana MP said reports from across the state suggested that the ruling AAP not only "misused but abused its power to intimidate the opposition candidates". Despite such "brutal abuse of power", most of the Congress candidates managed to file their nomination papers, he said.

Warring said everything was being captured by cameras and the government had been "exposed". If the AAP was so confident about its good performance in the upcoming polls, why did it need to use such "brutal force", he posed. "This reveals the sense of panic, desperation and frustration as the government has realised its support was eroding." He alleged that one of the Congress leaders, whose wife was scheduled to file nomination papers, was picked by the area SHO and waylaid at a different place. He was also illegally detained for the entire night, Warring claimed.

No wonder the law-and-order situation has been deteriorating in Punjab, and gangsters have been "ruling the roost" as the police were busy with other things, including "intimidating" the opposition leaders and helping the AAP win, the state Congress chief claimed, "But this too shall pass, and everyone will be held in the dock," he remarked.

In Patiala's Nabha, former minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot accused officials of allowing ruling AAP's workers to tear papers and use force to block rival candidates from filing nominations.

The Punjab BJP too accused the AAP government of "misusing" police machinery and civil officers, claiming the ruling party was resorting to such tactics fearing defeat in the upcoming Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections.

"Pressure is being exerted on opposition candidates to stop them from filing nomination papers. Not only this, in several constituencies, police have been conducting raids on candidates' houses, locking their gates, picking up family members, tearing their documents, and blocking roads to obstruct their movement," alleged Punjab BJP general secretary Anil Sareen.

He said, "The police are no longer upholding the law; they are functioning like AAP's B-team. This is not democracy; these are signs of dictatorship in the state." Sareen alleged the AAP government was indulging in "dirty politics" by executing a "systematic plan" to prevent opposition candidates from reaching nomination filing offices.

The BJP leader claimed that although countless complaints with evidence have been sent to the state election commission, no action is being taken.

The state election commission, by staying silent, is raising doubts about the fairness of the elections, he said, and asked, "Has the commission's job been reduced to merely reading documents?" PTI CHS NSD NSD