IMPHAL, Feb 10: The Naga People`™s Front (NPF) Friday refuted the charges levelled against the party of establishing links with underground elements during the Manipur assembly polls. At the same time, it expressed high expectation of winning at least eight seats.
`NPF is a responsible party and the allegation against the party is baseless,` NPF Manipur unit spokespesman Somi Keising told media persons.
The prospect of NPF in the recently held polls is bright and that the party is likely to win not less than eight seats and it would participate in the process of democratic set-up where the party would pursue its interest on every issue, he said.
NPF had not seek the support of any outside elements to back any of its candidates in the election process, Keising asserted and said such unnatural blame should not be targeted on the party.
Talking on the controversial photographs taken during the time of polling, he said overall rechecking of the electorate photos is quite necessary for smooth conduct of democratic process in the future considering its vital importance with regard to poll rigging.
Keishing lauded the strep taken by Election Commission of India (ECI) for taking voters`™ photographs while exercising their franchise, but he also urged the ECI to ensure proper screening of photographs being taken at every booth, claiming that many polling stations were recorded 90 per cent voting, particularly in respect of Ngaimu and Somdal of Chingai constituency.
Counting of votes for the Manipur polls without proper screening and rechecking of the photographs taken on the polling day and without comparison with the electoral roll photos will be a clear violation of the true spirit of the initiative taken by ECI with an objective of maintaining transparency, the NPF spokesman further insisted.
Olish`™s agent refutes Chandel NPF: The election agent of SS Olish, the independent candidate of Chandel AC has denounced as baseless, the allegation made by the district NPF unit against her on February 9.
In a press release, Bungson denied that the candidate did not utilize any state force or security personnel as alleged against her. He stated that the deployment of extra security happens only when the ECI recommends such based on the presence of threat to any candidate, which was not the case, maintaining that the charge was aimed at tarnishing the image of Olish.
In response, Bungson claimed that the statement from their rival camp was meant to cover up the wrongdoings they have perpetrated. As proof, he recounted the abduction of five supporters of Olish, including three women, by alleged NPF supporters accompanied by armed militants from Nungpan in Chakpikaong sub-division on January 27. The abductors thrashed them severely and took away their personal items along with a Bolero jeep. The same vehicle was blazed on the same evening of the Tampi firing incident during which seven people were killed at the polling station in a gun-fire exchange.
He reminded about another attack on a supporter of the Olish on election day, January 28, at Larong polling station after which the woman had to be admitted at RIMS.
In intensification of the attack on NPF, he maintained that NPF agents took over voting at polling stations disallowing voters to exercise their franchise.