PANAJI:
Congress on Sunday filed a complaint with Goa’s chief electoral officer (CEO) against
BJP for violating the
Election Commission’s ban on public rallies and curbs on door-to-door campaigning. Congress asked the EC to cancel permissions granted to BJP for all public rallies.
Congress had also appealed to the Goa CEO to cancel all permissions for the public meetings at Ponda,
Sanvordem
and Vasco, but the CEO allowed the meetings.
BJP organised public rallies in Ponda, Sanvordem and Vasco, where Union home minister
Amit Shah campaigned for BJP. Shah held public meetings at Ponda and Sanvordem, and also went door-to-door with BJP candidate Ganesh Gaonkar in Sanvordem.
The Election Commission has banned physical rallies and roadshows for assembly elections in five states till January 31, but parties are allowed to hold physical public meetings of candidates from January 28 for Phase 1 of the elections, and from February 1 for Phase 2.
“As per EC directions, public rallies are banned this month due to the spread of Covid-19. The state has already witnessed a rise in cases and deaths in the last few days. Therefore, these rallies must not be allowed as they are a violation of the said directions,” said Congress general secretary Sunil
Kawthankar
.
Speaking to media, Kawthankar said that the arrival of BJP leaders in Goa in the run-up to the polls is an indication of the panic within the BJP camp.
“We see that many BJP leaders are coming here to Goa. It is clear that they are in panic mode because they have seen the end of their bad reign,” said Kawthankar.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.