The Congress leaders LoP Partap Singh Bajwa and Punjab Youth Congress president Mohit Mohindra today filed a complaint with State Election Commission (SEC) and made scathing attack on the AAP government and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for large scale rigging in the filing of nomination papers for election of Patiala Municipal Corporation and Municipal Committees in the district.
The Congress delegation led by Bajwa and Mahindra met the State Election Commissioner R.K.Chaudhary and demanded to accept all the nomination papers of Congress candidates for Patiala MC who were not allowed to file the nomination papers by goons deployed by AAP leaders. Bajwa alleged that the goondagardi by goons under police protection was done at the directions of CM Bhagwant Mann.
Mohindra explained that Congress had released the list of 60 candidates but nomination papers of 27 candidates were torn or snatched by AAP goons and some candidates were not allowed to enter the office of Returning officer. He said that all this happened under police protection.
He said that they had approached the Punjab and Haryana High court in the morning and HC has told them to first approach the State Election Commission. He added that they would file a petition in the Supreme Court of India against mass rejection of nomination papers of Congress candidates. He said that in the house of 60, only 33 candidates were in fray.
Mohindra said that the people of Patiala had seen murder of democracy, and they would not go to cast their votes. He said that what had happened in Patiala was black day in the Indian democracy. He said that it is understood that AAP will again try to rig the election on polling day. He said that Youth Congress would counter the AAP goons. He said that AAP was scared o defeat and stated that Congress had won majority seats in the Lok Sabha.
Mohindra further said that not only in Patiala, AAP had stopped candidates of opposition parties from filing nomination papers and in Sanaur declared unanimous victory of AAP candidates. The Congress candidates were not allowed to file nomination papers in Devigarh and Ghanaur.