Arunachal: BJP leader calls for peace in Kurung Kumey, Kra Daadi

Itanagar: Bharitiya Janata Party’s (BJP) election committee chairman Tame Phassang on Thursday called for a peaceful and fair election in the Kurung Kumey and Kra Daadi districts of Arunachal so that voters can exercise their franchise without any fear.

Phassang, who was addressing a news conference at the Press Club in Itanagar, said that repeated reports and instances of violence which have been doing the rounds on social media is bringing the state, especially the two districts, a bad name.

“Elections will come and go; however, one should always know that, we are all a family irrespective of any party. Hampering the election process will not gain us anything but it may lead to loss of precious human life and property,” he said, requesting all the other parties to shun any practice that affects the election procedure.

Also Read: Good Samaritan: Arunachal guv gets poor girl admitted to school

Phassang, however, accused the Congress of booth-capturing by allowing a single person of the party to cast votes for all the voters enlisted at Sangram polling station of Kra-Daadi district.

“This happened in the absence of BJP polling agent as he was not allowed to enter the polling booth on that day of polling (April 11),” he said.

He also alleged that Takam Pario, the MLA and Congress candidate from Palin constituency, misled the people by luring voters with Rs 10 lakh during re-poll in the district.

“It is very unfortunate that the leader of the opposition carried such huge amount of money violating the model code of conduct,” Phassang said while clarifying that none of his BJP workers was involved in the checking of his private vehicle.

Phassang said this in reply to a question on how far it was justified for party workers to check a candidate’s vehicle when the flying squads are tasked with the job.

Also Read: Arunachal Cong accuses BJP of booth capture, violence during polls

A day before the re-poll on April 27, Rs 10 lakh in cash along with local dao (machete) and guns were allegedly recovered from Pario’s private vehicle which was later handed over to the police by the locals.

Phassang also requested the state chief electoral officer (CEO) to inform the whole episode to the Election Commission (EC) for further investigation and action on the matter. “The state BJP has never demanded any re-poll in the two districts. The decision of re-poll came after the verification of various incidents and irregularity in the voting process by the EC,” he said.