Police, administration play no role in elections: Sukhbir

Throwing his weight behind DGP Sumedh Saini, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said police and administration have no role to play in elections and in no way can contribute to winning or losing prospects of a candidate contesting polls.
"If police and administration officers can get a candidate contesting polls win or lose, then Sonia (Gandhi, Congress Chairperson) could have got security deposits of several candidates forfeited," he said in reply to query that Election Commission is set to remove incumbent Saini.
Referring to a series of complaints marked to the EC by the opposition Congress against some police and administration officers, he said that the party was creating a "phobia" that officers indulge in favouritism.

"Police or administration officers can not make a candidate win or lose polls," he clarified.
On recent replacement of three Deputy Commissioners, one Commissioner of Police and four Senior Superintendent of Police (SSPs) by the ECI, he said that "Congress is using all tactics and sending complaints is one of its ploy to show the public that they got replaced one officer or the other."
He said that the Congress is using "false propaganda" to browbeat officers and Akali Dal and BJP in the state.

When his attention was drawn that at the 2007 Assembly polls the then DGP S S Virk, considered to be close to Amarinder Singh, was replaced by the ECI on the complaint of the SAD, Sukhbir said that there were allegations of serious nature against Virk. "Virk was working like an election agent of Congress," he added.

On allegations of snooping leveled against Saini by Peoples Party of Punjab (PPP) supremo Manpreet Singh Badal, who is contesting against sitting SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal from Bathinda seat, Sukhbir, who is husband of the MP, said there was no truth in such reports.
"Police officers do snooping only if there are specific instructions from the Home Ministry," he said.
Earlier, Saini had taken leave to apparently pre-empt move of the ECI to get him removed from the post after Congress accused the officer of being charge sheeted by a CBI court in a 2006 case. Congress also apprehended that with Saini as DGP, with proximity to Akalis, fair and free polls were not possible in the state.

The 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab are going to polls on April 30.