Mullappally Ramachandran seeks judicial inquiry into poll malpractices

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Mullappally Ramachandran addressing news conference in Kozhikode on Saturday.

With more cases of poll malpractices emerging in the State, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Mullappally Ramachandran has demanded a judicial inquiry into the allegations of bogus voting and tampering with the electoral list in the Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing a news conference in Kozhikode on Saturday, he alleged that the CPI (M)-led LDF had meticulously employed the government machinery to enable party activists to have a free-run to carry out bogus voting especially in Malabar region as well as removing the names of voters from the electoral rolls before the polls.

“Even my daughter -in- law who had exercised her franchise in the previous polls found that her name had been deleted from the list after reaching the polling station, “ Mr. Ramachandran said.

He alleged that Block Level Officers, of whom 90% were affiliated to the Left unions, had been trained to tamper with the voters’ list. Likewise, a large section of Deputy Tahsildars, who were authorised to add or remove names in the electoral rolls, had not followed the procedures, he claimed.

Mr. Ramachandran also urged the Chief Electorate Officer Teeka Ram Meena to be impartial in dealing with the issues pointed out by AICC general secretary and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy that the names of nearly 10 lakh voters were missing from the electoral rolls in the State.

He also demanded that the terms of the inquiry should cover the alleged role of State Police Chief (DGP) Lokanath Behra in allowing a few members of the police association to indulge in unethical behaviour in postal voting. It appeared that he was dancing to the tunes of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPI (M) leadership in the State, Mr. Ramachandran remarked.

Mr. Ramachandran said that the KPCC had constituted a high- level committee led by K.C. Joseph to collect evidence from districts regarding bogus voting and submit a report. This report would be presented to CEO in Kerala and Chief Election Commission to take necessary action. “The party would go to any extent including approaching the Supreme Court and the High Court to get justice. Such a thing should never happen again as local bodies and Assembly polls are due in 2020 and 2021respectively, “ he added.