Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 9 Oct: BJP State Spokesperson Ravindra Jugran launched a sharp attack on the Congress, today, remarking, “After devouring a hundred rats, the cat has set out on a pilgrimage to Haj.” He said that whenever the Congress loses elections at the Centre or in the states, it blames Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), misuse of government machinery and alleged vote theft.
Jugran said that whenever such allegations were taken to the Supreme Court, the Congress had faced setbacks.
Recalling the 1981–82 Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha elections, Jugran said that the Congress had adopted every possible tactic to defeat Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, a prominent national leader who had served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and held several ministerial positions in the Union government.
He alleged that booth capturing, intimidation of voters and attempts to prevent people from casting their votes were widespread during the election. According to him, criminals and miscreants from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana were brought into the Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency, including Dehradun, to influence the electoral process.
Jugran further alleged that the misuse of government machinery reached its extreme during the Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha by-election, when police forces from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were deployed in addition to the Uttar Pradesh Police. He claimed that supporters of Bahuguna were selectively intimidated, threatened and assaulted, allegedly through a campaign involving police personnel and criminal elements from these states.
He also alleged that around half a dozen Chief Ministers from Congress-ruled states and an equal number of Union Ministers campaigned across the Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency, including Dehradun, engaging in both campaigning and what he described as a disinformation campaign.
Jugran said that differences with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi led Bahuguna to leave the Congress and resign from his Lok Sabha membership from Pauri Garhwal.
He stated that the 1981 Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha election was subsequently annulled on the basis of what he described as strong evidence, and a fresh election was held in 1982.
According to Jugran, the election attracted widespread attention not only in India but also internationally. He recalled that the BBC closely covered the election and, as he claimed, remarked, “Come, let us take you to India’s new capital, Pauri Garhwal,” referring to the extensive deployment of government machinery allegedly undertaken by Indira Gandhi to defeat Bahuguna.
Concluding his statement, Jugran said that before levelling allegations against the BJP, the Congress should remember its own controversial past and reflect on its electoral history.
