With less than 24 hours remaining for the UP bypolls, Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party has levelled serious allegations of intimidation against the police and the government. The SP has alleged that its supporters in the Katehari Assembly constituency are being threatened.
Katehari in Ambedkar Nagar is among the nine seats going to polls on Wednesday, November 20. The administration claimed to have put in place all measures to ensure fair and transparent voting in Katehari.
However, the Samajwadi Party's allegation has raised concerns. It has accused the administration of intimidating the voters by issuing red slips or warning notices.
The SP has fielded Shobhavati Verma, wife of MP Lalji Verma, as its candidate from the Katehari seat. Ahead of the voting, Lalji Verma wrote to the Superintendent of Police, alleging that the police were pressuring Samajwadi Party supporters to refrain from voting by issuing warning notices.
Lalji Verma alleged that people from Muslim, Yadav, and Kurmi communities were being targeted by the administration and subjected to harassment. He said, "Fear is being created in the area to benefit the BJP." In the letter to the Superintendent of Police, Lalji Verma said he would relinquish his security cover as he had lost faith in the police.
'The district president of the Samajwadi Party Jung Bahadur Yadav also alleged that the police were intimidating people in minority-dominated villages. Our booth and sector presidents are being called up over the phone and intimidated. Yadav said, "We suspect that they [UP administration officials] will capture the booths by driving away our agents. They should work according to the Election Commission's instructions and not create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation."
The Ambedkar Nagar district administration has assured that the by-election will be conducted fairly and transparently. District Magistrate Avinash Singh said that there is no confusion or intimidation. "The law has to take its course. There are many people who create their own definition of it," he said.
Singh further said, "In a democracy, no one is above the law... Anyone who is engaged in wrongdoings will be brought to justice." Singh said, "The district administration will take action against history-sheeters and those involved in spreading terror at booths in the past. The administration is committed to ensuring that everyone votes without fear. Police in uniform and plainclothesmen would be deployed around booths at the time of voting."
(Report by Yajnesh Tripathi, ABP News.)
