A delegation of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), comprising senior Congress leaders, on Thursday met State Election Commissioner (SEC) Ajit Kumar Tripathy and demanded for deferment of the Urban local Body (UlB) elections, scheduled to be held in the nine districts of western Odisha on November 22.
“The State Election Commission (SEC) should have held a discussion with all the political parties before declaring elections in the western districts,” the PCC delegation said, adding, “This unilateral decision of the EC is highly arbitrary and illegal.”
Following the recent statement made by Union law Minister Kapil Sibal on establishment of the High Court bench in western Odisha, the game plan of the Chief Minister has been exposed and there has been sharp reaction to this in western Odisha including Bar Associations.
Also, the fact that 144 CrPC has been promulgated here shows everything is not normal and taking undue electoral advantage at this juncture is against the democratic values, the leaders observed.
Among others, senior Congress leaders MP Amar Nath Pradhan, Sivanand Ray and Sarat Pattanaik were part of the delegation.