Kota (Raj) Sep 23 Questioning the fairness of the conduct of the election for Sultanpur municipality chairman, Congress’s Pipalda MLA Chetan Patel Kolana on Wednesday alleged that while his party workers were targeted and detained by law enforcement, unauthorised individuals affiliated with the ruling BJP were permitted to enter the polling venue.
In the election, Congress candidate Mukesh Meghwal lost the chairman post by one vote to BJP’s Anita Meghwal, who secured 13 votes.
Kolana, while speaking to PTI regarding the charges registered against him for obstructing official duties and blocking roads at the polling venue, clarified that the situation escalated due to police inaction against unauthorised entry and high-handedness toward local party workers.
Detailing the sequence of events, Patel stated that when he arrived with elected Congress members (parshads) for voting on Monday, police stopped them at barricades placed 200 meters away from the polling centre.
He said police officials assured him that no unauthorised individuals or other political parties would be allowed past the barricade.
However, after Patel departed for Itawa, multiple vehicles carrying BJP members, outside supporters, and party office-bearers reportedly breached the barricades and entered the restricted area. When Congress workers attempted to question this administrative bias, it reportedly triggered a commotion.
Addressing allegations of stone-pelting, Patel dismissed claims targeting Congress members, asserting that there is no video or photographic evidence showing party workers throwing stones. He noted that except for a minor who threw a stone in reaction to the ruling party’s breach, none of the individuals seen in the footage was Congress personnel. He further accused the police of resorting to lathi charges, beating innocent citizens, and wrongfully detaining local workers.
Defending his decision to block the road, Patel emphasised that as a public representative, he was compelled to stage a protest after police repeatedly refused to release the detained workers or take action against the unauthorised individuals present inside. He added that he did not break barricades or misbehave, but acted to protect democratic norms against administrative bias and misuse of power. Terming the case filed against him baseless, Patel called the entire incident a failure of police neutrality and an attempt to suppress democratic accountability.
(PTI News)
