The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State General Secretary, Lekhashree Samantasinghar has accused the Odisha government of targeting party-backed Panchayat Samiti members ahead of the election to Block Chairman posts in the State.
Addressing a presser in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, the BJP leader said that the State government is targeting the Samiti members with the threat of implicating them in false cases. As alleged by her, the members are being threatened of being booked on kidnapping charges. Even they are intimidated of being trapped in cases under the National Security Act (NSA), alleged the BJP leader.
Further, the BJP leader also alleged that the police had conducted raids at the house of 8 elected members in Astaranga. They were picked on false charges of kidnapping. Even ordinary people from minority communities are being tortured, she charged.
“All such incidents are happening at a time when the dates for the Block Chairman election are inching closer. The State government is engaging the police and administration to harass the BJP-backed Samiti members by picking them from their homes and threatening them to book them in false cases. The police are also threatening the candidates of prosecution under NDPS act by planning contraband at their residence,” alleged Samantasinghar.
Stressing that voting under coercion is not acceptable, Samantasinghar has sought immediate intervention of the State Election Commission in the matter.