Bhubaneswar: Voicing concern over violence during elections n Odisha, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday claimed that the action of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in these incidents appeared to have been ‘biased’ to a great extent.
Strongly protesting the arrest of party’s’ Khurda MLA candidate Prashant Jagdev in an EVM vandalism case, senior leader and former state BJP president Samir Mohanty told media that questions are raised over the response of the CEO to several other incidents.
Citing an example, Mohanty raised questions over the response of the CEO to poll violence in Chhendipada during the third round of elections.
Claiming that no action was taken against BJD leader and Chhendipada MLA Susanta Kumar Behera though his assault video has gone viral on social media, he said the authorities remained silent and only issued a notice to the ruling party leader.
Stating that BJP has given concrete evidence against the BJD workers and leaders over poll violence, Mohanty said no action has been taken by the authorities.
It was alleged that BJD’s Chhendipada MLA candidate Behera assaulted a BJP worker at a polling station at Similisahi village during voting on Saturday. However, no action was taken against him, claimed Mohanty.
Even an ASI of police in Hinjili could not be transferred despite allegations against him, the BJP leader claimed, urging the CEO to function in an impartial and unbiased manner while dealing with violent incidents related to the elections.
Meanwhile, the office of CEO said in a statement that it has maintained absolute impartiality throughout the election process; it has never acted under any pressure. “It has always addressed the concerns of all political parties. Everyone is requested not to create any controversy about this office and mislead people,” it added.
