SAD, BJP complain their candidates not getting no-dues certificates

The SAD and the BJP on Tuesday complained to the State Election Commission in Punjab that officials were not issuing no-dues certificates to their candidates ahead of the December 17 municipal elections.

A delegation of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders urged state Election Commissioner Jagpal Singh Sandhu to take action against officials who they said were "working as Congress agents" by denying these certificates to their candidates.

The delegation led by senior Akali leader Tota Singh said false cases were registered against five Akali workers who had earlier complained about the conduct of the Mallanwala and Makhu Nagar panchayat Executive Officer.

"These Akali workers had approached the Ferozepur Deputy Commissioner because the said officer refused to issue them no-dues certificates. Instead of relief, police registered cases against the Akali workers in Makhu and Mallanwala in Ferozepur district," SAD Vice President Daljit Singh Cheema said here.

The Election Commissioner was told that certificates were not being issued to Akali workers in Moga, Dharamkot and Baghapurana, apart from Rajasansi in Amritsar district.

The names of prospective opposition candidates were being struck off voters' lists but complaints against Returning Officers were not being addressed, BJP state Secretary Vineet Joshi claimed.

--IANS

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