Keshari seeks ROs from outside UP

LUCKNOW: BJP state president Keshrai Nath Tripathi on Friday claimed that the Election Commission has powers to appoint returning officers from outside the state in constituencies going to by-polls on October 13 in Uttar Pradesh to ensure free and fair polls.
Urging the Commission to use its powers under the Representation of People Act, Tripathi pointed that free and fair by-polls on two Lok Sabha and 12 UP Assembly seats are not possible till some of the returning officers of a particular caste, who were acting as Samajwadi Party agents, were not replaced.
"Observers alone would not be able to check rigging and misuse of official machinery in the present regime as they have limited powers. The Commission must appoint returning officers from outside Uttar Pradesh to offer a level-playing field for all parties," he demanded urging the EC to delegate powers to observers for deployment of central forces.