The Eelection Commission has directed Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary to conduct an inquiry into the by-election fixing case after tapes of purported conversations between Congress leaders and current CM’s son-in-law came to the fore.
It may be recalled that the Congress candidate for the Antargarh by-election in September 2014 had withdrawn his candidature, giving an walkover to BJP, allegedly after have cash changed hands. The EC has asked the Chief Secretary to submit the inquiry report by January 7.
Earlier, The Indian Express had published purported conversations between a section of Chhattisgarh Congress leaders including the Congress candidate and persons close to Chief Minister Raman Singh and his son-in-law over telephone.
“The EC has directed the Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh to urgently institute a suitable enquiry into the tape episode. He has been directed to submit a factual report latest by January 7 along with his comments,” an EC official said.
Meanwhile, Congress has demanded resignation of CM Raman Singh and an SIT probe into the entire incident even as BJP says it is the fallout of infighting in the Congress party.
However, the conversations on the tapes suggest involvement of Singh’s son-in-law in buying withdrawal of the Congress candidate Manturam Pawar in the by-election even as BJP called the allegations ‘baseless’ and said this was not the first time the party tasted victory in Antagarh.