Mumbai, Jan 5 (PTI) Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad on Monday alleged large-scale violations of norms ahead of the civic polls and accused Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar of intimidating behaviour.
“Despite the poll code in force, voters were being lured and pressured, which was a serious violation of election rules,” the Congress MP told reporters.
She alleged that the State Election Commission had failed to take action against such irregularities.
Various Opposition parties had accused Narwekar of violating the model code of conduct, interfering in the nomination process, and tampering with CCTV footage linked to the exercise.
He had denied the allegations as “politically-motivated.” Gaikwad further claimed that bogus voters were being added to the electoral roll and that some MLAs were openly directing electors on which button to press on electronic voting machines.
Alleging the misuse of power, Gaikwad stated that elections were being engineered to ensure unopposed victories.
“This raises serious questions about whether democracy is functioning at all,” she said, adding that the Speaker, who is expected to act impartially, was behaving in an unconstitutional and biased manner.
Gaikwad demanded immediate action by the State Election Commission to protect the integrity of the electoral process and uphold democratic values. PTI MR NSK
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