Palakkad(Kerala) | As the Congress, BJP and CPI(M) blamed each other for enrolling fake voters for the Palakkad assembly by-poll, the Election Commission on Tuesday said a list of such electors has been prepared and if they come to vote, they will not be prevented, but instead action would be taken against them later.
The CPI(M), which has accused the Congress and BJP of "enrolling fake voters", contended that they will take all legal measures to prevent such individuals from voting.
"There are legal and democratic ways of preventing them from voting," state Excise Minister M B Rajesh said on the eve of the by-poll in Palakkad.
On the other hand, both the Congress and the BJP claimed that the ruling CPI(M)'s reported remarks about stopping fake voters during the voting for the Palakkad assembly seat were aimed at deterring electors and would amount to taking the law into its own hands.
The Congress and the BJP also accused each other and the CPI(M) of being involved in creating fake voters.
The by-poll in Palakkad will be held on November 20.
During the silent campaign in the Palakkad assembly constituency, Congress-led UDF candidate Rahul Mamkootathil, while visiting homes seeking votes, said the election officials were officers of the government and therefore, how did fake voters' names get registered on the electoral roll?
Mamkootathil, the state president of the Youth Congress, said that even the UDF was opposed to fake voters, but that issue should not be used to intimidate other electors from voting.
BJP's C Krishnakumar, who also visited homes in the constituency seeking votes, said such statements by CPI(M) showed the Left party's tendency to take law into its own hands.
He said his party would take recourse to legal means to prevent fake voting as they were not in favour of physically blocking people from entering polling booths.
"There is police for that. Does CPI(M) have no faith in its government's Home Department or the district administration?" he asked.
LDF's candidate, P Sarin said that if the UDF and BJP were hoping to win the bypoll through fake votes, the Left would prevent it through legal and democratic means.
Sarin, amidst his door-to-door campaign in the constituency, said that the Left was not concerned by fake votes and urged the UDF and BJP not to bank on such tactics for a win.
Amidst the blame game, Palakkad District Collector S Chithra, who is also the Returning Officer, said that based on complaints of fake voters and double entries in the electoral roll, a probe was carried out and a list of such individuals was prepared.
"We handed over the list of such persons to the presiding officers in the polling booths. If the persons in the list show up for voting, the presiding officer will take their photograph and a written testimony from them before allowing them to vote.
"If they vote, it will become an evidence against them when we initiate action under section 31 of the Representation of People Act and if found guilty, will entail imprisonment for one year or fine or both," the Collector told media.
She said it was a small list of persons who are suspected to be fake voters or have double entries.
Earlier in the day, Mamkootathil also said that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's recent remarks about IUML supremo Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal would play a role in the Palakkad by-poll.
The UDF candidate claimed that the CM's remarks had communal undertones and indicated Vijayan's Sangh Parivar mindset.
While addressing a bypoll campaign meeting for LDF candidate P Sarin in Palakkad on Sunday, Vijayan criticised Thangal, who is the spiritual leader of a significant section of Sunni Muslims in Kerala, saying he was acting like a worker of Jamaat-e-Islami.
The by-poll was necessitated after the Congress MLA of the constituency, Shafi Parambil, got elected to the Lok Sabha from the Vadakara constituency.
Palakkad (Kerala) | The Congress-led UDF on Tuesday lashed out at the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala over its advertisements in two newspapers regarding the inclusion of former BJP leader Sandeep Varier in the grand old party, by describing it as "communal" and "shameless".
The controversial advertisements were published in the Palakkad edition of the newspapers on the eve of the assembly by-poll here, prompting the UDF to also question how the Election Commission permitted the same.
The advertisement contained screenshots of several social media posts allegedly by Varier when he was in the BJP.
Slamming the CPI(M) over the advertisements, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said that the Left party and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan "have stooped so low that even the Sangh Parivar would be put to shame".
In a harsh criticism of the Left party, Satheesan said that CPI(M) placed the "advertorials" in two newspapers run by Muslim organisations to create communal disharmony.
"They did not have the courage to carry the same advertisement in their mouthpiece. They carry Muslim-centric and Christian-centric campaigns in respective newspapers of those two communities. Who else does it? They are fanning flames of communalism.
"Is this a Left or communist party? A progressive party? They are an extreme right-wing retrogressive party. That is what they are telling everybody on the eve of the by-poll," he said.
He said the UDF was ashamed that it had to compete against such a "shameless" party.
Earlier in the day, the CPI(M) defended its move saying that it gave the advertisement in many English and Malayalam newspapers and the intention behind it was to point out that Congress has accepted into its fold a person who has a communal mindset as Varier has not deleted his previous anti-Congress and allegedly non-secular posts.
Later in the day, state Excise Minister M B Rajesh said the advertisement was given in four newspapers, including a well-known national daily.
In the morning, rejecting the CPI(M) contentions, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran said the advertisement was a sign of the CPI(M)'s "desperation".
"They initially wanted him (Varier). Many of their leaders, including A K Balan, called him a pure soul. Now they have changed their tune," he said, adding that the CPI(M) was "shameless".
UDF's Palakkad candidate Rahul Mamokootathil asked whether the CPI(M) does not want people in the RSS to give up their communal mindset and become secular?
"Is it not good that a person left the RSS and their communal views to take up a secular stand? I can understand why BJP state chief K Surendran wants the RSS to be strong, but why do Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and state Excise Minister M B Rajesh want that?" he asked.
Mamkootathil, who is the state president of the Youth Congress, also questioned "how the Election Commission allowed such a clearly communal advertisement?"
He also said that had the CPI(M) been successful in wooing Varier to the Left front, the advertisements would have said -- "from communalism to communism".
The UDF candidate said that the advertisement was aimed at benefiting the BJP as the contest for the Palakkad bypoll was between the Congress and the saffron party and the CPI(M)-led LDF was in the third position.
"It is odd that the CPI(M) did not give any advertisements against the BJP. It is because they do not want to hurt the BJP in any manner. Even K Surendran does not love his party as much as the CPI(M) does," Mamkootathil said, taking a dig at the Left party.
On the other hand, Minister Rajesh said that Mamkootathil's remarks indicated that the Congress and UDF were scared they were going to lose in Palakkad.
"It is clear they have admitted defeat," he said.
He also wondered why Varier's posts against the Congress were still not deleted and said that the grand old party should have at least asked him to delete those before joining them.
"It shows that he continues to be an RSS activist. It is such an individual the Congress has welcomed. So, how is it communal if we point that out," the minister said.
Meanwhile, Varier said the CPI(M) advertisements were similar to the 'Kafir screenshot' that was circulated ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in Vadakara constituency earlier this year.
He also said that he could understand if the BJP was aggrieved over his exit from the party and joining the Congress, "but why is the CPI(M) so concerned?"
"I believe it is the BJP which paid for the advertisement," he claimed.
He also claimed that a fact-finding team had already established that the screenshots in the advertisement were fake FB posts.
Varier said that the posts he put up against the Congress in the past are still there on his Facebook page in order to show what kind of person he was and how he has changed now.
He also pointed out that LDF candidate P Sarin, the former digital media convener of the Congress before his removal from the party, had not deleted his posts against CM Vijayan and the CPI(M).
The by-poll was necessitated after the Congress MLA of the constituency, Shafi Parambil, got elected to the Lok Sabha from the Vadakara constituency.
