Hyderabad: Stating that the public in Telangana “have lost faith in the Election Commission’s ability to conduct free and fair” polls, the Forum For Good Governance (FFGG) here has written to the Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar asking him to tackle the issue of voters getting bribed.
In a letter addressed to the Election Commission of India (ECI), FFGG president Padmanabh Reddy asked the apex body to “control the purchase of votes” and “luring of voters with liquor and other gifts” with regard to the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. He alleged that in spite of the Rs 40 lakh limit per candidate for last year’s Assembly elections, contestants had spent as much as Rs 10 crore, violating the rules.
Pointing out that Section 77 of the Representation of Peoples Act mandates all election candidates to maintain a record of their expenditure, Padmanabh Reddy in his letter that this has to be submitted within 30 days after the declaration of results. Stating that while most of the candidates showed expenses between Rs 20 to 35 lakhs, Padmanabh Reddy alleged that the “ground reality” was entirely different.
The FFGG president went on to say that the amount spent by candidates even touch Rs 50 crore in keenly contested seats in last year’s Telangana Assembly polls (which the Congress won). “While the officers on election duty are watching helplessly, the votes are purchased at Rs One thousand to three thousand per vote,” alleged Padmanabh Reddy.
He added that votes were purchased “khullam khulla”, and questioned what the ECI’s Returning Officers and district collectors were doing while money was allegedly being spent to buy votes. He went on to ask what happened to all the Rs 800 crore money and gold that was seized in the run up to last year’s Telangana Assembly election.
“Coolly most of the seized money and gold was released, but there was no press statement regarding release of money and gold,” said Padmanabh Reddy in his letter to the Election Commission of India.
