AGP moves EC against NREGA cards

GUWAHATI, March 28 – Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today pleaded with the Election Commission of India that the documents prescribed for identification of the voters during the last Assembly elections in the State should be prescribed this time too by the Commission for the same purpose.

In a memorandum to the Election Commission, the AGP expressed the apprehension that the latest decision of the Commission to treat the NREGA job cards for identification of the voters might be misused by the Congress by issuing fake job cards in the name of ongoing projects.

It needs mention here that Election Commissioner Nabin B Chawla had announced at a press conference here on Tuesday that for identification of the voters, NREGA job cards would also be treated as valid documents.

Addressing a press conference here today, AGP general secretary and chief spokesman Atul Bora (Junior) told newsmen that the decision of the Election Commission might help the Congress prepare fake NREGA job cards. Moreover, the decision of the Commission that the members of a family should go together to the polling stations along with the head of their family might also debar the voters from exercising their franschise, he said.

The AGP in its memorandum has pleaded that the Commission should review the above decisions on identification of the voters, he said.

He also announced that the AGP would move the Election Commission against Congress nominee for Tezpur Lok Sabha seat Mani Kumar Subba for his distributing money among the voters. A local TV channel has already telecast the video footage depicting Subba’s misconduct of distributing money among the voters, Bora said.

The AGP is also not satisfied with the version of Election Commissioner Nabin Chawla that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are tamper-proof. Or else, why the Chief Minister is exuding so much confidence that the Congress would win more seats than the previous Lok Sabha elections, despite there being a strong non-incumbency wave in the State, wondered the AGP chief spokesman.