J-K shows EC is right: Vaghela

Gujarat Congress chief Shankarsinh Vaghela today praised the Election Commission (EC) for the successful J-K polls and took a dig at the Cen...

Gujarat Congress chief Shankarsinh Vaghela today praised the Election Commission (EC) for the successful J-K polls and took a dig at the Centre’s stand on the Gujarat polls. The fair conduct of J-K polls, he said, should be ‘‘an embarrassment’’ to the Centre that had criticised the EC’s decision to postpone Gujarat polls.

‘‘That democracy will survive in this country is proved by the EC and not the Government,’’ Vaghela said. He also took a dig at the BJP and said: ‘‘The mandate against the NC shows that NDA allies have lost their secular credentials.’’

The EC had made revision of the voters’ list a key pre-condition for polls. Vaghela said: ‘‘We have complained to the EC that names of minority community voters are missing from the list.’’

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The voters’ list in Vadodara, he said, has about 3,000 names without their addresses. In Mansa, over 15,000 duplicate names figure on the list, particularly replacing those who went missing after the riots.

Vaghela said: ‘‘The mischief is being committed while putting the names on the voters’ lists on computer. It is important that the returning officer concerned verify and endorse the CDs of the lists.’’

On the likely polarisation of majority community voters in favour of the BJP, he said: ‘‘All polarisation is time-bound and issue-based. After Askhardham, there is a new polarisation borne out of insecurity in the BJP regime.”

On selective transfers of officials after Godhra, he said: ‘‘If we come to power in the state, we will reward all officials who boldly spoke the truth about the riots.’’

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