Cong demands security for polling officials

The Congress leaders on Tuesday expressed apprehensions over the risk of conducting free and fair by-elections in Kadapa before the Election Commission.

They were of the opinion that this particular bye-election assumed great importance as it was being fought on the issue of ‘prestige’.

The Congress leaders met Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal at the Secretariat on Tuesday that money laundering and distribution of free gifts was quite rampant by YSR Congress Party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

Through the CEO, the Congress leaders requested the ECI to give a special treatment to the cited by-election taking certain important measures.

The Congress team demanded that armed security within the radius of 100 meters of every polling station they in order to restrict movement of persons.

The idea was to avoid distribution of gifts to the voters or polling officials, especially as reports have come in that the authorities had already seized more than Rs 2 crore.

The Congress leaders opined that this was necessary to impose certain restrictions around the polling stations to check distribution of free gifts and cash.

The District Electoral Officer and district Collector also allegedly expressed apprehensions over the risks of fair polling in several polling stations.

Two days before the actual polling it was necessary for providing security to the Presiding Officers who may be intimidated or threatened by ‘certain’ persons, the Congress delegation said.

Therefore there was need to restrict movement of people within 100 meters radius of every polling station, the Congress delegation stated.

To avoid any such incident, the Congress team also asked for food and water arrangements to be made and security cover for the polling officials under the command of observers who had been appointed by the ECI.

Briefing media persons after meeting the CEO, Congress general secretary and MLC Rudraraju Padmaraju alleged that Mr YS Jaganmohan Reddy was adopting dubious methods to dole out gifts to workers and leaders in the form of new vehicles and money transfers through the bank accounts routed through banks in Dubai.

Mr Rudraraju said that in spite of severe checks some unidentified vehicles were still moving about in the district.

To ensure free and fair elections there was necessity to prohibit mobility of unidentified vehicles and to clear the areas around the polling stations by sending away non-locals.