Chandigarh, March 19 A Congress delegation met Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh here on Thursday, alleging that the ruling BJP behaved as "political predators" and openly indulged in horse-trading in the recently held Rajya Sabha polls in the state.
The delegation, led by Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, was from the Haryana Congress Legislature Party.
The Congress also alleged that the Returning Officer, IAS Pankaj Aggarwal, acted in a partisan manner.
Aggarwal, while denying the allegations, told
The Congress memorandum submitted to the governor said, "The ruling dispensation behaved as 'political predators' and adopted all immoral means for the victory of the independent candidate."
The ruling BJP openly indulged in horse-trading, Faustian bargains, intimidations, institutional pressures, dishonest deals, and misuse of government machinery, it added.
The Congress Legislature Party has requested the governor, in his capacity as the constitutional guardian of the state, to order an inquiry into this unethical and undemocratic conduct, to direct the government to uphold democratic values, decency, and discipline.
After the poll results were announced on Tuesday, the Congress accused the BJP of indulging in "vote chori" and alleged "murder of democracy".
The polling for two Rajya Sabha seats was held here on Monday, in which BJP's Sanjay Bhatia won one seat, while Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh secured the other in a close contest against Independent candidate Satish Nandal.
Haryana BJP's vice-president, Nandal, had contested the elections as an Independent candidate.
Boudh's victory by a narrow margin came amid allegations that five Congress candidates allegedly cross-voted. Besides, of the five votes declared invalid, four were reportedly cast by Congress legislators.
According to the memorandum, given the numerical strength both parties enjoy in the 90-member Assembly -- BJP (48) and Congress (37) -- under normal circumstances, the victory of both candidates of BJP and Congress was a foregone conclusion.
Despite the lack of requisite members for winning the second seat, the BJP propped up its Vice President, Nandal, proposed by three Independent MLAs and 7 BJP MLAs, as an independent candidate.
"This unscrupulous act of the ruling party trampled the dignity of the august House of Haryana Legislative Assembly by transforming it into a political market," it said.
The memorandum further said that the arbitrariness in the conduct of the Returning Officer, IAS Pankaj Aggarwal, who supplemented the machinations of the ruling party, was more painful.
"The IAS officer Pankaj Aggarwal behaved as an agent of the BJP/Independent Candidate in a manner unbecoming of a Constitutional authority...," the Congress memorandum alleged.
The Congress alleged that the RO deliberately disregarded all valid objections raised by the vote-counting agents of the party.
The Congress had even complained to the Election Commission of India about his "misconduct", and urged the governor to ensure that appropriate disciplinary action is taken against the Returning Officer, it said.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters, Hooda alleged that the BJP hatched a conspiracy to ensure Nandal's victory by any means necessary, employing a strategy involving persuasion, inducement, coercion, and division.
Congress senior leader and MLA Raghuvir Singh Kadian said that the government's conduct has been extremely undemocratic, not only during the elections but within the Legislative Assembly as well.
"The Congress party sought to raise the issue of the Rajya Sabha elections in the Assembly, but the BJP stifled the voice of the opposition," Kadian alleged.
