ECI gets poll schedule made by BJP: Cong leader on JMM claims

New Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS) As the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) accused the ECI of favouring the BJP, Congress leader Udit Raj on Tuesday said it was correct that the Election Commission of India gets the schedule "made" by the BJP leaders. 

The ECI is set to announce the poll dates for Maharashtra and Jharkhand. JMM leader Manoj Pandey expressed his worries, saying, "The election is to be announced today, but BJP leaders got information about it yesterday. This is a very serious matter. Does the commission work at the behest of BJP leaders? It is a serious matter to keep the commission as a puppet."

Talking to IANS, Udit Raj said, "Whatever, he is saying is right. The ECI gets the schedule made by the BJP. Lok Sabha elections were held in seven phases, what was right? The ECI was not impartial in that. The Haryana results are proof that the ECI was dishonest in that too."

Congress leader further claimed that Democracy is in danger in this country. "Democracy is in danger in this country and today the election dates of two states will be announced. I hope that the kind of fraud that happened in Haryana should not happen again," he added.

Udit Raj further criticised the Centre for the India-Canada diplomatic strain and said our foreign policies deteriorated over time after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government came into power.

"The Canadian government has alleged that our diplomat is involved in suspicious activities there. On that basis, they expelled them. And then in response, India also took action and we support it properly. But one thing is clear: things changed on the international level after PM Modi came into power, and our relations with our neighbour countries deteriorated completely."

He asserted that whatever happened was not normal and this issue should be raised in the coming sessions.

"Our foreign policy is continuously degrading and failing. Our bilateral ties with neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are worsening," he concluded.

On Monday, Canada and India each expelled six diplomats in tit-for-tat moves as part of an escalating dispute over the June 2023 assassination of a Sikh activist in Canada.

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said that Canada was expelling six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner after police uncovered evidence of a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents of the Indian government.

Shortly afterwards, the Indian foreign ministry said that it was expelling six Canadian diplomats, including the acting high commissioner and the deputy high commissioner. It said in a statement that the diplomats were told to leave India by the end of Saturday.