BJP undermining power, position of constitutional bodies: Congress

Hamirpur (HP): Former Himachal Pradesh Congress president Sukhvinder Singh Sukhoo Thursday accused the BJP of undermining the power and position of all constitutional bodies but said his party would not allow it to win the election by "misusing" the official machinery.

Talking to reporters, he alleged that the BJP was not obeying the directions/instructions of the Election Commission due to which the elections would not be fair. He said that despite instructions from the Election Commission, the BJP leaders are using the name of Army and its surgical strikes in their speeches.

He said it was shocking that the Supreme Court had to issue directions for free and fair elections in the country when the BJP-led government was not enforcing the poll code in letter and spirit. The Supreme Court on April 8 issued a notice to the Election Commission on a PIL seeking direction to the poll body to take "strict action" against political parties if their spokespersons make remarks based on castes and religions in the media in the run up to general elections.

The Congress leader also welcomed the decision of the apex court issuing directions to the Election Commission to increase random checking of voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips from one booth per assembly segment to five in Lok Sabha polls for better voter confidence and credibility of electoral process.