Congress asks MP workers to keep an eye on “suspicious” officials on vote counting day Dec 3

New Delhi: The Congress is suspicious over a section of Madhya Pradesh government officials bending rules to help the BJP and has asked party workers to keep a strict vigil on the vote counting day December 3.

Polling for the 230 member MP Assembly was held on November 17.

“The party has asked all the workers to remain alert at all times. The BJP is heading towards its worst ever defeat in the state and will try to play some mischief till the eleventh hour. Some officials nurtured by the BJP will try to help the saffron party. We have to remain alert, safeguard democracy and not let the BJP succeed in its nefarious designs,” AICC secretary in charge Madhya Pradesh CP Mittal told this portal.

“If any administrative officer is found compromising with his or her duties and is seen trying to work in favour of the BJP by influencing the neutrality of the election, our workers should not remain silent. They should register a strong protest. They should remember that they are the true watchdogs of democracy and it is their duty to oppose any wrongdoing. They have a right to a free and fair election and transparency is the basis of democracy. They should do no wrong and should not let anyone do wrong. That is the mark of a true Congress worker,” he said.

The party directive was issued a day after some officials were found counting the postal ballots after opening the ballot boxes kept in the strong room in Balaghat district on Nov 27 ahead of the Dec 3 counting.

Later, the poll panel acted on a Congress complaint and suspended the nodal officer for negligence.

“Though this was a one-off incident, we fear the BJP might be trying to tamper with the postal ballots. We have to remain alert,” said Mittal.

To be on the safe side, the Congress organised a training camp for all the 230 candidates on Nov 26 in Bhopal on how to remain vigilant on the counting day.

“The candidates must be alert to any such attempts to influence the counting process,” said Mittal.

Before that, the Congress had asked all its candidates to prepare a list of local officials along with their designation and place of posting by Nov 30 to the control room in Bhopal.

The directive had been issued after the control room received several complaints of local officials working against rules to benefit the BJP on the polling day Nov 17.

During the campaign, both the former chief ministers Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh had repeatedly charged that some state officials were working in favour of the BJP and had warned them of action if the Congress was voted to power.

Kamal Nath, the party’s chief ministerial face, had told the administration of Prithvipur and Niwari that irrespective of what they were doing, sometime later decisions would be taken by him and then no one would be spared. Nath had warned the officials that they should remember that they will have to work with him for the next five years.

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