Facing heat over corruption charges,BJP national president Nitin Gadkari may have skipped Himachal on Tuesday but Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal can be heard listing various scams of the UPA in ads being aired on the radio every few minutes. But the words Raja Chor hai used by BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Dhumal junior,MP Anurag Thakur,has raised the heckles of the Congress in the state. Describing it as personal character assassination of Himachal Congress president Virbhadra Singh,the party has shot a complaint to the Election Commission (EC) demanding action against the party for violation of the poll code. The party,however,asserts that personal attacks on the Raja will prove counter-productive for the BJP. The Congress control room,which is working overtime to put poll logistics in place,is everyday compiling and shooting complaints to the EC in coordination with legal cell of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). We have so far submitted 47 complaints to the EC against the wrong practices of the BJP, said Congress office secretary Harsh Mahajan. The other poll code violation reported by the party pertains to pamphlets being distributed by the BJP at rallies and public meetings,which shows LPG as Congress cylinders and compares it with induction cookers promised by the BJP in its poll manifesto. They are on one hand trying to mislead the voters by labelling LPG cylinders as Congress and on the other,luring voters by promising induction cookers, the complaint stated. Notably,many BJP leaders like Anurag Thakur have been giving live demonstrations on how to use induction cookers at their public meetings. The BJP is stoking the poll fire by also distributing pamphlets on comparative prices of LPG in 2004 when NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was voted out of power UPA 1 and UPA 2. In yet another complaint,the party has asked the election watchdog to seal the borders of the hilly state in the crucial poll week fearing that money,liquor and other allurements may be smuggled in through neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana. Though the EC has put barriers on main roads leading to the state for random checking,the party has demanded the borders be sealed completely to rule out any foul play. The partys latest complaint was filed on Monday over alleged distribution of cash by Dhumals personal assistant at Hamirpur constituency. The complaint says no FIR has been registered against the PA so far.
