The food kits had been seized by the police on Wednesday night time whereas they had been being loaded right into a car at Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A political controversy has erupted in Wayanad forward of the Lok Sabha elections after a whole lot of food kits, suspected to be gifted to voters to affect them, had been seized by the police on Wednesday night time at Sulthan Bathery in the district.
A police group led by Sulthan Bathery Station House Officer Byju Okay. Jose seized 1,400 kits containing tea mud, sugar, rice, and cowpea and 1,200 packets containing betel leaves, tobacco, and areca nuts from two automobiles.
The kits had been seized round eight p.m. on Wednesday whereas they had been being loaded right into a car at Sulthan Bathery, following a tip-off, Mr. Jose mentioned.
The police had been investigating the case, he mentioned. The store proprietor advised the police that the kits had been readied on a non-public cellphone name. More particulars could possibly be revealed solely at a later stage, he added.
Meanwhile, leaders of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and Left Democratic Front (LDF) leaders alleged that the BJP was behind the transfer.
In a grievance to State Election Commissioner Okay.L. Poulose, UDF candidate Rahul Gandhi’s chief election agent mentioned Congress employees had come throughout hundreds of food kits containing rice and different groceries being ready to be distributed amongst tribal voters in the Sulthan Bathery, Mananthavady and Kalpetta Assembly segments to affect them.
He alleged that senior BJP leaders had ordered the kits and paid the distributors. The distribution was achieved with the consent of BJP State President and NDA candidate Okay. Surendran, he mentioned, including that such a transfer was towards the mannequin code of conduct, and that authorized motion ought to be initiated towards him.
LDF convenor C.Okay. Saseendran alleged that the BJP was trying to sabotage the election course of. “We have complained to the District Chief Election Officer calling for stringent action against the culprits,” he mentioned.
However, Mr. Surendran termed the allegations as baseless. It was discovered {that a} devotee of a temple at Sulthan Bathery had procured the kits to disburse among the many native folks in connection together with his housewarming, he mentioned. The assertion of disbursing kits amongst tribal voters to canvass their votes would give a unsuitable message and it insults the delight of the tribal folks, he mentioned.