The Congress on Friday urged the Election Commission to ensure free and fair polls in Manipur, allegeing that militant outfits are intimidating voters and influencing the elections.
A Congress delegation that met the poll panel ahead of the second phase of polling on Saturday took up the issue of the BJP-led state government releasing funds to militant groups under the suspension of operation agreement in violation of the model code of conduct.
The party said that these issues have “far-reaching consequences” for the conduct of free and fair elections.
The delegation of AICC senior observer for Manipur Jairam Ramesh and leader Salman Khurshid met the chief election commissioner and two election commissioners.
The Congress apprised them of “the BJP’s ‘goondagardi’ tactics that have made a mockery of the phase-1 polls in Manipur. We urged them to intervene to ensure free and fair polls in phase two tomorrow,” Ramesh said after the meeting.
“What kind of democracy is this? I feel in Manipur, for the BJP it is not Manipur but 'money-pur',” he said, citing the release on bail of the murder accused brother of a BJP MLA on the day the home minister went to the state.
In a memorandum submitted to the EC, the Congress claimed that Rs 15.70 crore on February 1 and Rs 92.65 lakh on March 1 were released to banned militant groups by the state government.
