Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma’s wife and Congress candidate for May 16 bypoll for Tura lok Sabha seat, Dikkanchi D Shira has landed up in legal trouble after the Returning officer of the constituency has lodged an FIR against her for violation of model code of conduct.
The FIR was lodged after the Meghalaya unit of the BJP alleged Dikkanchi D Shira of making a hate speech during a rally in Meghalaya's Garo Hills region on May 2. According to the allegation, the Congress candidate had stated that the National Peoples' Party (NPP) and the BJP have entered into an agreement for five years in which the BJP would leave Tura seat for the NPP and NPP would work on the BJP agenda. “The BJP cannot protect minorities like Christians and Muslims and it is only the Congress which stood for minorities,” Dikkanchi had allegedly said on May 2 this year.
Returning officer for the Tura lok Sabha constituency, Pravin Bakshi said that an FIR had been launched against the Congress candidate for the by polls. We have lodged the FIR as per the directives of the Election Commission of India. The reason behind lodging the FIR is violation of Model Code of Conduct which has been in force," Bakshi said adding that prima facie it seems to be a hate speech, but it needs to be proved. Sources said that the Returning Officer had also sought for a clarification from the Congress candidate over the allegation of hate speech after verifying audio visual clippings of the speech.
However, the reply furnished by the Congress was not satisfactory, which necessitated in lodging of the FIR. Dikkanchi D Shira was, however, could not be reached on her mobile phone.
The bypoll to the Tura lok Sabha constituency necessitated after former lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma, who has been winning the constituency since 1973-excluding brief intervals-died in March this year.