Chandigarh:- The Shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday said that the nomination papers of several of its candidates for the upcoming Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections in Punjab have been rejected at the behest of the leaders of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
It strongly criticised the State Election Commission for its alleged failure to conduct free and fair elections.
Shiromani Akali Dal (Akali Dal) leader and former minister Daljit Singh Cheema also demanded the removal of Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Varun Sharma. He claimed that in an alleged audio clip, Sharma was heard conspiring with some senior officers to stop opposition candidates from filing their nominations.
Addressing the media in Chandigarh, Cheema said that the State Election Commission should have removed the Patiala SSP to restore people’s faith in fair elections, but it has failed to do so.
The police had earlier dismissed the allegations and said, “It has come to our notice that an Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated video — made with malicious intent to mislead the public, spread misinformation, and disrupt the law and order situation — is being circulated on social media.”
Along with party spokesperson Arshdeep Singh, Cheema claimed that nomination papers of several opposition candidates have been rejected at the behest of AAP leaders. He said that 31 out of 72 nominations for the Zilla Parishad elections in Tarn Taran and 31 out of 63 nominations for the Panchayat Samiti elections were rejected.
He said that similarly, 37 nominations for the Panchayat Samiti elections in Gandiwind, 43 in Khadoor Sahib, and 56 in Patti were rejected. During the conversation, Cheema claimed that not a single candidate of the Akali Dal could file his nomination papers in the Zira Panchayat Samiti of Ferozepur district, while the nomination papers of 15 Akali Dal candidates for the Qadian Panchayat Samiti of Gurdaspur district were rejected.
He further said that similarly, in other districts, the nomination papers of Akali Dal candidates were also rejected in Jaito, Ghuman, Raja Sansi, Jandiala, Patran, Ghanaur, Ajnala, Baba Bakala and Fatehgarh Churian. Attacking the election body, Cheema said, what is the reason for their rejection? This is a complete failure of supervision by the State Election Commission.
He alleged that the Akali Dal gave several representations to the State Election Commissioner but no action was taken. It is worth noting that the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections in Punjab are to be held on December 14. The counting of votes will be held on December 17. The last date for filing nomination papers was December 4, while the scrutiny of nomination papers took place on December 5.