Police, officials helped BJP capture panchayat bodies in Gujarat: Cong; 'baseless', says ruling party

The Congress on Monday alleged that the Gujarat Police, administrative officers and government lawyers helped the BJP acquire power in various panchayat bodies after the local self-government elections, a charge dismissed by the ruling party as baseless and unfounded.

Addressing a press conference here, state Congress president Amit Chavda accused the BJP government of undermining democratic processes and misusing the state machinery to secure control over panchayat bodies.

He alleged that during the local body elections held last month, police and administrative officers behaved as if they were contesting polls on behalf of the ruling party.

''The alleged one-sided role of the administration continued during the elections currently being held across the state for the posts of the president and vice-president in district and taluka panchayats,'' the Congress leader alleged.

Citing the example of the Vyara taluka panchayat in Tapi district, Chavda said Congress held a clear majority with 13 out of 20 seats, but police allegedly intercepted vehicles carrying its members on May 23 while they were on their way to vote.

He said 11 vehicles were stopped, and Congress members were detained at a police station for several hours under the guise of investigation in an attempt to prevent them from participating in the democratic process.

''While some of our elected members managed to reach in time despite police action, three members could not make it on time despite the efforts of party leaders,'' Chavda alleged.

He said in Deodar taluka panchayat in Banaskantha district, the election officer delayed his arrival for a meeting convened to elect the president and vice-president, and abruptly postponed the meeting to May 27, citing law and order concerns.

Chavda alleged that the later date was deliberately chosen as a Congress member, who is pregnant, was due for medical treatment on that day, thereby reducing the opposition's vote strength.

In the Anand district panchayat, the president's post is reserved for a woman of the Scheduled Tribe category, he said, adding that the BJP candidate's nomination was initially cancelled by the election officer on Sunday as her ST certificate from Maharashtra was not valid in Gujarat.

In the wake of that decision, a woman ST member of Congress remained in the fray and was set to become the president despite her party being in the minority, he said.

The BJP approached the Gujarat High Court and sought a stay on the election officer's decision. On Monday, the HC stayed the decision and directed officials to finish the election process.

''The government lawyer actively colluded to help the BJP candidate obtain favourable orders,'' Chavda alleged.

He demanded an inquiry against police officials, administrative officers and government lawyers for ''misusing'' their authority to help the ruling party.

He said the Congress would approach courts to seek justice and ensure action against officials found guilty of wrongdoing.

Rejecting the allegations, Gujarat BJP spokesperson Anil Patel said the Congress was attempting to hide its own organisational weaknesses by levelling baseless accusations against the ruling party.

On the Anand district panchayat issue, Patel said the High Court had legally validated the BJP candidate's nomination under the Scheduled Tribe category.

''The High Court legally validated the candidate's nomination, which is why she was elected. If the Congress party had objections to this, their issue is with the judiciary, and they should have challenged it there rather than blaming the ruling party,'' said Patel.

He added that the Congress did not even have a majority in the district and there was no reason for them to ''daydream'' about winning.

Responding to the allegations regarding the Vyara taluka panchayat, Patel said Congress members themselves failed to arrive at the meeting on time.

On the Deodar taluka panchayat controversy, Patel said the election was not cancelled but merely postponed due to extraordinary circumstances.

He claimed the Congress had a history of disrupting legislative proceedings for political purposes, saying the opposition party lacks moral authority to question the postponement decision.

He asked Congress leaders to manage their own house, instead of blaming the administration and the BJP for their setbacks.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)