With the second phase of polling for Mandi bye-poll to take place on Friday at Kinnaur, BJP candidate Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday apprehended that under the garb of relief and rescue operations, polling might get rigged in the rain ravaged district.
Thakur alleged that in the rain ravaged district, voters were being influenced in a big way and list of beneficiaries of the grants are being prepared by local legislator.
He charged Government of adopting a lopsided approach in carrying out relief work. "It’s strange that list for evacuation of stranded people is being prepared by local legislator without the consent of deputy commissioner and genuine people were being left out," he said in a press conference here.
The BJP candidate said affected people were given meager immediate relief of Rs2000 but there are reports that people refused to accept it. “Government is not at all serious about the relief operations being carried out in the district, for the Chief Minister, Mandi bye-poll remained important from where his wife was contesting the election but he was not worried about the people of Kinnaur who lost their belongings, crops and loved ones in the natural calamity,” said Thakur.
He even targeted the Chief Vinister for failing to get relief or interim grant from the central Government till now and said that delayed action on the part of State Government has resulted for non-grant of relief package. “Election Commission of India should have taken the conditions into account and should have deferred the elections for some more days to give time to carry out relief and rehabilitation in the rain affected areas,” said Thakur.