Alleging that the Janata Dal (Secular) leaders have created an atmosphere of fear among the voters of Council polls, Congress leaders on Thursday appealed to the Hassan district administration to ensure a free and fair election.
Workers of the party, under the leadership of Lok Sabha member D.K.Suresh, submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner R. Girish in this regard. Speaking to the media, Mr. Suresh said that leaders of the JD(S) were luring the voters through all tricks. They had created fear among many. Besides that, they had been misusing government buildings for campaign meetings, he said.
In some cases, the JD(S) leaders were forcing the voters to take snaps while voting to prove their loyalty to the party. “There are chances of malpractices during the election. Many voters have expressed their fear with us. The administration should install CCTV cameras at polling booths and should not allow voters to carry mobile phones inside the booth”, he said.
He said the party would complain to the Election Commission if the district administration failed to act on the complaint.
Former Lok Sabha member Dhruvanarayan, Congress party candidate in MLC polls M. Shankar, district Congress committee president Manjunath Javagal and others were present.
