Guwahati, Oct 2 (PTI) Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Friday said voters of the October 6 Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll need to consider “larger issues” such as transparency in the EC’s functioning, alleged targeted evictions and police encounters and not just local problems of road and water.
Addressing a press conference here, the former Union minister questioned the credibility of the BJP candidate, who was the district commissioner of Nagaon till as late as September.
“Each vote is important in a democracy to strengthen it. Facilities of drinking water, road safety, electricity and healthcare are important issues for the Nagaon by-election. Local leaders will address those,” he said.
“But, there are larger issues as well,” the former external affairs minister pointed out.
One such issue is the recent allegations about the functioning of the Election Commission, which have “forced the Supreme Court to make a clear indication that it will consider whether what has happened in the EC is permissible in any legal system or democracy”, he said.
Referring to an Indian Express report claiming that decisions were taken by the chief election commissioner without the knowledge of the two election commissioners, Khurshid said, “Questions about how elections are conducted and how people are entitled to vote are arising from all sides.”
Taking a swipe at BJP candidate Devasish Sharma, Khurshid alleged that as the Nagaon DC, he had taken decisions on “citizenship of the people to take forward his politics” and cited at least two instances where bona fide Indian citizens were allegedly branded illegal foreigners by the then top official of the district.
He asserted that citizenship rules for the state were clearly cited in the Assam Accord, which sets March 25, 1971 as the cut-off date for granting citizenship, as he highlighted that the accord had no partiality towards any religion or region.
Mentioning the updated final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), prepared under the supervision of the Supreme Court, the Congress leader questioned why it has not been notified yet.
“Identity cards have not yet been issued for those whose names have been included in the NRC. Rejection slips have also not been given to those left out,” he added.
Khurshid alleged that large-scale evictions have been carried out by the current dispensation in the state based on religious identities.
“The state should not be concerned about the religion of a person when he or she has allegiance to India,” he asserted.
Khurshid claimed that those affected by evictions have not been registered as voters in their new locations.
Citing instances of accused being killed or injured in police action while in custody, he said the apex court has repeatedly affirmed that there can be no such deaths in a civilised society.
He also criticised the chief minister for instances of alleged “hate speech” and maintained the people will give the BJP-led NDA a befitting reply in the bypoll by voting for the Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora.
The by-election was necessitated as sitting MP Pradyut Bordoloi quit the Congress to join the BJP ahead of the assembly polls in April. Bordoloi is now an MLA.
The bypoll is scheduled on October 6, and counting of votes on October 9. PTI SSG SSG ACD
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.