Congress aks EC to debar senior BSP minister during current polls

New Delhi: The turf war between Congress-BSP in the Gandhi Nehru family's pocketborough of Raebareli and Amethi intensified today with Congress approaching the Election Commission seeking "debarring" of a senior BSP minister and transfer of Rabebareli District Magistrate during the current Assembly polls.

In a written complaint to the EC against Swami Prasad Maurya and eight administrative officers including Raebareli DM Amrita Soni, the party said they are "seeking to influence voters in favour of non-Congress parties especially BSP and SP" in assembly seats of Raebareli and Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj (Amethi) districts.

The Congress also demanded that Maurya, who is BSP's election in-charge for these districts should be debarred from visiting Raebareli and Amethi, alleging that "these illegal acts and omissions and rank favouritism are happening under the explicit and clear pressure of both Maurya and Raebareli DM Amrita Soni".

After meeting the EC, party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said officers in Raebareli and Amethi districts have been instructed by the state administration to act in a blatantly biased manner and hence they are not granting timely permissions for Congress'meetings particularly of Priyanka Gandhi.

He said that permissions for Priyanka Gandhi's meetings were granted only one and one-and-a-half hour before.

"A large number of officers are openly threatening, pressurizing and scaring Congress workers," the party said citing various instances of alleged "obstruction" by these administrative officials to Congress workers in Gauriganj, Jagdishpur, Oonchahar.