Congress MLA slams Khattar over bogus voting allegations

Congress chief whip in the assembly, Bharat Bhushan Batra on Tuesday slammed former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar over the allegations of bogus voting in Rohtak and Sirsa by the Congress in the May 25 polling for 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana.

Reacting to allegations made by Khattar at a briefing in Gurugram, Batra who is the Congress MLA from Rohtak said that the former CM is speaking “blatant lies” as the BJP is in a panic mode after the May 25 polling in the state. Batra alleged that BJP candidates themselves entered the booths and tried to influence the voters on the election day.

The Rohtak MLA said Congress party has followed the guidelines of the Election Commission during the polls.

The Congress MLA accused the BJP of trying to spread the poison of casteism during the polls. “Voters were threatened, teachers were intimidated even in universities. There are complaints of BJP distributing liquor and money during the elections,” Batra alleged.

The Congress leader said Election Commission guidelines were violated during poll campaign by the BJP. “BJP posters and flags were put up even in government institutions across Rohtak. Not only this, even on the day of voting, BJP office-bearers and local leaders openly flouted the rules,” he alleged.

Batra alleged that BJP candidate from Rohtak Arvind Sharma and a former minister were seen influencing voters at different booths. The MLA said that more than 600 complaints were made to the Rohtak administration and the Election Commission about the violations done by BJP in Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency. But till now, no action has been taken on even a single complaint, he said.