A delegation of the BJP and the Jana Sena Party (JSP), comprising Somu Veerraju, Nadendla Manohar, Kanna Lakshminarayana and Kandula Durgesh, submitted a memorandum to Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan here on Thursday, and requested him to issue instructions for the conduct of the Gram Panchayat elections in a free and fair manner.
The leaders alleged that the large-scale violence that was witnessed during the process of elections for the municipalities, ZPTCs and MPTCs last year and the attacks on candidates and coercive measures taken by the ruling party leaders at that time had resulted in an unprecedented spike in unanimous elections in favour of the YSRCP.
These incidents created a doubt that the present elections might also be marred by violence and electoral malpractices against the backdrop of the spat between the government and the State Election Commissioner (SEC), the memorandum said.
The alliance leaders further said the government might deliberately cause delays in the issue of caste and no-dues certificates, and there was the possibility of tampering of nominations during scrutiny.
Attack on temples
The also complained to the Governor that there had been attacks on temples and desecration of idols, but the government had so far not succeeded in nabbing the culprits.
The incidents reached a peak with the attack on the Ramateertham temple. While the YSRCP and the TDP leaders were allowed to visit that temple, those of the BJP and the JSP were stopped and roughed up by the police, they alleged.
Unfortunately, the DGP had alleged that the BJP activists were involved in the attacks on some temples, they said, and urged the Governor to ensure that the culprits were apprehended.
