Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, Feb, 04
Urging upon the visiting ECI team to ensure free and fair elections in J&K, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh JKNPP Chairman and former Minister today sought stringent action against bureaucrats and officers who were working under the tutelage of certain corrupt politicians and promoting their political interests in their respective jurisdictions. He said that security scenario which had deteriorated over the years in the state could be retrieved to a large extent if the concept of free and fair polls was translated into reality in the true sense. Pointing towards the large scale allegations of rigging and electoral manipulations in 1987 polls, Mr. Singh said that such alleged subversion of public mandate had resulted in gradual deterioration of law and order in the state which ultimately reached a point of no return. He was addressing a protest dharna organized by JKNPP in press club today against the politicization of bureaucracy and open politicking by certain unscrupulous officers enjoying patronage of vested political interests.
Alleging saffronization of administration on the eve of polls, Mr. Singh said that planned placement of biased officers on prime positions during ensuing elections was highly unjust and capricious as they could influence the polls in a big way. He regretted that despite repeated complaints against some of such officers, the govt had failed to take action against them thereby revealing the vested interests of the helmsmen in giving them sensitive postings. He said that Panthers Party had organized protests on the visit of ECI so as to draw the attention of the Apex Election body towards the abuse of position and authority by reckless govt functionaries for furthering political prospects of their political masters.
Asserting that the slogan of free and fair elections could not materialize under the motivated and prejudiced officers, Mr. Singh called for indulgence of ECI for shifting of such officers from prime positions besides initiation of action against those who were overzealously working under the tutelage of politicians and promoting their interests under a more loyal than the king policy in utter disregard for civil service regulations and election laws. Such transgressions into the political arena by unscrupulous officers had threatened the very concept of liberal democracy as opposition leadership was being bullied and embarrassed, he said. These officers were further resorting to political victimization with several complaints against them in Udhampur District having been overlooked by a politicized bureaucracy.
Seeking action on a few of the complaints lodged by the Panthers Party in the past, Mr. Singh pointed out that a Dy. SP in District Udhampur had openly campaigned for BJP during Municipal elections in October-November 2018 besides using his subordinate police personnel to propagate his political philosophy. The said officer had now been threatening the people in his jurisdiction to desist from attending political rallies of JKNPP or else they would be booked in false cases, he alleged. The supporters of NPP were being threatened, intimidated and implicated in false cases with even their basic rights as free citizens having been suspended, he maintained. Likewise some local BDOs of RDD were openly announcing to release the wages and other dues of labourers and Jobs card holders under MGNREGA to only those claimants who agreed to support the candidates of a particular political party, he lamented. How could free and fair elections be possible when the govt functionaries had openly waded into the domain of politics and were working in furtherance of the political interests of their masters, questioned Singh? Urging upon the ECI to take cognizance of the brazen politicization of administration, Mr. Singh said that NPP shall continue to agitate the matter in all possible foras till action was initiated against such officers.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Bansi Lal Sharma Advocate, Mrs. Manju Singh, Rajesh Padgotra, Kesar Parveen Advocate, Renu Singh, Jyoti Devi, Anita Kumari, Safalta Bhagat, Parshotam Parihar, Yudhvir Singh, Khajoor Singh, Surinder Chouhan, Rajeshwar Sambyal, Nirmal Kishore, Shankaar Singh Sanju, Mohinder Singh, Rashpaul Singh, Udhayveer Singh, Vishab Singh, Bikram Choudhary, Mohan Lal, Darshan Singh, Gurjeet Singh besides others.
