DMDK leader Premalatha Vijayakant has sought disqualification of Congress candidate for Virudhunagar Lok Sabha seat B. Manickam Tagore for making voters fill-up forms with their personal details under the guise of enrolling them for some of the welfare schemes proposed by the party.
Talking to reporters here on Monday, Ms. Premalatha said, “This is a clear case of violation of election code and wondered as to how Mr. Tagore who has been an MP for 10 years not knowing this.”
She displayed an application form, which is said to have been distributed by Congress cadre to voters to get their personal details including signature. “It is not at all wrong to give promises during election. But, distributing such application forms door to door and getting the signatures of voters is wrong,” she said.
Stating that three FIRs had been registered in Tirumangalam, Sattur and Virudhunagar Assembly constituencies of Virudhunagar Lok Sabha seat, she said her legal team was working on the issues. “The issues have been taken up with the Election Commission in Delhi,” she added.
The Virudhunagar West police had registered a case against one R. Kamaraj, 41, of Virudhunagar under Section 188 for disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant and Section 171 E of Indian Penal Code for punishment for bribery.
In the complaint, Anthonraj,41 belonging to the Static Surveillance Squad, said Kamaraj, who runs a grocery shop on Thanthimara Street, had been collecting voter identity cards from 30 voters.
He was entering the personal details of the voters in the application forms of the Congress party’s guarantees of providing ₹1lakh to women and ₹1 lakh stipend for educated youth for apprenticeship. The forms had the “Hand” symbol of the Congress printed on it.
Earlier, BJP candidate Radikaa Sarathkumar along with her partymen, laid siege to the office of ARO in Virudhunagar seeking action against the Congress candidate with regard to the same issue on Sunday.
The Congress cadres also gathered at the AROs office and denied that there was any illegality in distributing the printed poll promises.
