Former Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu accuses the Aam Aadmi Party of preparing fake votes on a large scale in Mohali

MOHALI: Senior Congress leader and former Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu has accused the Aam Aadmi Party of preparing fake votes on a massive scale in every ward for the upcoming Mohali Municipal Corporation elections. He has demanded that the State Election Commissioner immediately intervene and cancel the bogus votes being created.

Addressing journalists here today, Mr. Sidhu said that the Aam Aadmi Party, with the intention of capturing the Mohali Municipal Corporation at any cost, is allegedly creating around 300 fake votes in every ward. He claimed that forged rent agreements are being prepared indiscriminately to register outsiders as voters in Mohali city. He further said that the identical format and the same attesting authority used in agreements prepared over the past one month clearly indicate that these agreements for different wards were drafted at a single location.

Giving an example, the former Health Minister said that in Ward No. 42, 304 new votes have allegedly been added, increasing the voter count from 678 to 982. He said that similarly, fake votes are also being prepared on a large scale in Ward No. 5, from where the Aam Aadmi Party is reportedly preparing to field the wife of a senior police officer as a candidate. He further stated that large-scale fake voting registrations are also taking place in the IT City ward recently included in the Mohali Municipal Corporation limits.

Mr. Sidhu said that many of these alleged fake voters do not even have photographs attached in the voter lists, raising concerns that these votes could be cast by other individuals. He claimed that more than twenty votes have been registered at single houses in these wards.

Calling this practice of creating fake votes a “blatant murder of democracy,” the Congress leader said that tomorrow he would personally bring the entire matter to the notice of the State Election Commissioner and demand immediate intervention to stop the alleged bogus registrations. He said he would also request the Election Commissioner to appoint a senior officer for a special inquiry under direct supervision while the voter registration process continues.

Mr. Sidhu further alleged that Aam Aadmi Party leaders have started implementing the unethical lessons of “Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed,” allegedly taught by Punjab’s “real ruler” Manish Sisodia a few months ago. He said that the Congress Party would not tolerate the murder of democracy and the violation of human rights being carried out at the grassroots level, and if needed, they would also approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court to stop this alleged fraud.