quot;JP violated election codequot;

DHARAMSALA, Nov 16: Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sat Mahajan today alleged that the BJP-led government had violated the election code of conduct in view of Baijnath bypoll by transferring an executive engineer, Irrigation and Public Health from Thural, in Kangra district to Aani in Kullu, a couple of days ago.

In a statement issued here, he said that the BJP had been resorting to all sort of code violations for the past few days. He said there were reports that the government had allowed the opening of liquor shops in the assembly segment till midnight to woo a section of electorate. Congress workers from different parts of the constituency have complained that local BJP leaders were at work to assemble liquor bottles for free distribution just before the constituency goes to polls on November 25.

Sat Mahajan, who has been camping in Baijnath, for the past many days for electioneering, said: quot;I have been pursuing the issue of Scheduled Tribe status for Gaddis and Gujjars of lower merged areas of Himachal at par with those in Chamba, while I was MP from Kangra. But nothing further has been done on this account, despite the fact that the BJP government in the state has been making tall claims about its soft corner for the Gaddis over the past years.quot;