AAP creating hurdles to prevent Opposition from filing papers: Congress

The Punjab Congress leadership on Thursday strongly objected to the AAP leadership allegedly using the civil and police administration to prevent the candidates supported by Opposition parties from filing their nomination papers for the October 15 panchayat poll.

Citing the recent violence at Zira where former Zira MLA Kulbir Singh Zira was injured during the nomination process, PPCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and CLP leader Partap Singh Bajwa sought the intervention of the state Election Commission in conducting free and fair poll.

The party has identified specific places across the state, including Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Muktsar, Faridkot and Mansa besides other stations where hurdles were being created for the candidates, supported by the Congress, to complete the formalities related to filing of the nomination papers.

Warring said the civil and police administration would be responsible for any violence that happens in the run-up to the filing of nomination papers on October 5. “I am personally going to Zira tomorrow to see that candidates supported by the Congress are able to file their nomination papers. I have taken up the matter with the state Election Commission.”

Party sources said all senior leaders across the state would be stationed at their respective station to see that no hurdles are created in the filing of nomination papers by candidates.