MPP launches agitation: Sit-in-protest held, effigies burnt
Four member delegation to meet ECI officials in New Delhi today
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, April 26 2009: THE ISSUE of alleged mass rigging by supporters of Congress in Andro Assembly Constituency and some other polling stations in other Assembly Constitu-encies during the second phase polling in Manipur on April 22 is becoming a big controversy with the CPI and the MPP taking it out in the street here and dragging it to Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi.

Workers and leaders of MPP today organised a sit-in-protest at the gate of the party office west of Pologround here demanding repolls in the entire Andro Assembly Constituency.

Effigies of CEO Shambhu and Imphal East RO Lakshmikanta being burnt

Later the protesters also burnt effigies of the state Chief Electoral Officer, Shambu and the Returning Officer of Imphal East district, M Lakshmikumar.

Meanwhile, the four member delegation of MPP led by its president Dr L Chandramani is scheduled to meet the election commissioners of Election Commission of India (ECI) in New Delhi tomorrow evening.

A large number of leaders and MLAs of MPP, workers, supporters and functionaries of MPP, Chanura Marup and MPP Youth Front took part in the sit-in-protest.

MLA of Khurai AC Dr Ng Bijoy, who also participated in the sit-in-protest, told reporters that what Congress did in Andro AC was completely against democratic norms.

He said, out of 14 polling stations which were already recognised as hyper sensitive by the ECI, polling had been completed by 9 O'clock in the morning of April 22 at 11 polling stations.

The party had complained about the abnormal incident to the authority but they ignored the complaints and did not go to inspect the situation.

The attitude of the authority needs to be condemned by all democratic people.

He asked, why Central Para Military Force (CPMF) was not deployed at the 14 hyper sensitive polling stations in Andro AC, and instead why the Village Defence Force (VDF) personnel whose training has not even been completed were deployed at these hyper sensitive polling stations.

The ECI's guidelines clearly prohibit using state force as security protection at the polling stations.

The ECI's guidelines had been flouted by the stated authority.

The MLA further said that the party submitted written applications to the state Chief Electoral Officer and RO of Imphal East district requesting them to provide copies of orders concerning deployment of VDF instead of Central Para Military Force, but the officials refused to provide the same.

This is the whole plot of Congress.

Therefore, conduct of repoll in the entire Andro AC is the resolute demand of MPP, Dr Bijoy said.

He also expressed that deployment of only 25 personnel of CPMF each at the two strong rooms where the electronic voting machines of Inner and Outer Parliamentary Constituencies are kept is also a matter of suspicion.

According to the ECI's guidelines, one company of CPMF must protect the strong rooms, he said.

Other leaders of MPP also said that the riggings carried out by the workers of Congress in Andro AC is a challenge to the people of Manipur, it's a mockery of democracy, and that the polls must be conducted once again in Andro AC, or else they would launch different agitations.

On the other hand, the effigies of CEO Shambu and RO of Imphal East district M Lakshmikumar were set on fire by around 3.30 pm while the sit-in-protest was going on.

Meanwhile, the four member delegation of MPP presently camping in Delhi will be meeting the top officials of ECI at 4.30 pm tomorrow.

MPP candidate in the Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency Th Chaoba, who is one of the delegates, told this newspaper on phone from Delhi that the delegation will place full details of proxy voting done by Congress in Andro AC before the ECI.

They will also insist the ECI on conducting repoll in Andro AC as soon as possible, he said.

He further told the Hueiyen Lanpao that the party president, Dr L Chandramani, leader of MPP legislature wing, O Joy, MLA Dr I Ibohalbi and he himself in Delhi were thoroughly discussing the matter before their meeting with the ECI officials.

They will return home on April 28 after getting a concrete response from the ECI.

Chaoba alleged that the Congress had threatened the former Deputy Speaker of Manipur Legislative Assembly, Th Shyamkumar, forced him to resign from his position and put him in jail.

This is a well-calculated preplan conceived by expert masterminds of the Congress-led state government, Chaoba alleged and added that after putting Shyamkumar in jail, the hyper sensitive polling stations of Andro AC were arbitrarily turned into normal polling stations, and by deploying only the unarmed personnel of VDF at these polling stations, the Congress forcibly snatched all the votes.

This the people of Manipur must condemn, he said.

He also said that Andro AC is a traditional stronghold of MPP.

Knowing this the Congress blackmailed Shyamkumar and put him in jail while they (Congress) did as they wished in the AC during the poll day.

Therefore in flagrant defiance of all democratic norms, the Congress has deprived the voters of their rights to franchise.

So Congress has become enemy of the people and in order to teach them a lesson, cooperation of the people is greatly needed in the MPP's efforts to have a repoll in the entire Andro AC, he said.