The Aryavarth Express
Agency (Madhya Pradesh): The BJP in Madhya Pradesh has accused the Congress of undermining democracy by encouraging voters to choose the NOTA (None Of The Above) option. This accusation comes in response to the Congress’s appeal to voters to press the NOTA button in the upcoming Indore elections on May 13, following the withdrawal of Congress candidate Akshay Kanti Bam.
State BJP chief V D Sharma strongly condemned the Congress’s actions, stating, “Instigating people to press the NOTA button on the EVM is a crime in democracy. Encouraging the NOTA option is an attack on democracy.” He criticized the Congress leadership for attempting to weaken the democratic process.
The controversy escalated when BJP councillor Sandhya Yadav was seen removing a poster from an autorickshaw that advocated for the NOTA option. The poster was put up by an organization called ‘Loktantra Bachao Samiti.’ This act led the Congress to file a complaint with the Election Commission, accusing Yadav of intimidating the autorickshaw driver and forcibly removing the poster with the help of goons.
Sandhya Yadav defended her actions, stating that promoting the NOTA option is detrimental to democracy. “I fulfilled my duty as a conscientious citizen by removing the poster promoting NOTA,” she told PTI, asserting her commitment to continue doing so.
The Congress’s appeal for voters to choose NOTA came after their candidate, Akshay Kanti Bam, withdrew his nomination on April 29 and subsequently joined the BJP. The Congress argued that pressing NOTA would “teach the saffron party a lesson.”
State Congress general secretary Rakesh Singh Yadav alleged that the NOTA campaign was driven by angry voters and accused Sandhya Yadav of using threats to remove the poster. He claimed she was accompanied by goons and that the incident was captured on video, which has been submitted to the Election Commission.
In a sharp rebuke, BJP chief Sharma addressed Congress state chief Jitu Patwari, saying, “Your candidate voluntarily withdraws his nomination at the last moment. The public is not stupid. You are on the wrong side and asking the public to vote for NOTA. This will not do.”
Regarding Bam’s induction into the BJP, Sharma remarked, “We have purifiers and X-ray machines installed here. Nothing to worry about.”