New Delhi, Apr 17: Election Commission’s order to lodge a case against Lalji Tandon in stampede case has added to BJP’s headache. The opposition is playing up the incident against the BJP as well as the Prime Minister.
Congress, which was in search of issues, is strongly recommending the cancellation of the Lucknow Lok Sabha poll. Reiterating the party stand, Congress party spokesperson Kapil Sibal said, “This sari distribution that lead to stampede and death of 22 persons is not only a “black mark” on elections from Lucknow but also on the entire country’s elections.”

Besides, Congress is not sparing the UP government and has demanded that along with BJP, the Samajwadi Party should also be put in the dock.

SP, which had earlier stated that this issue should not be politicized today changed its stand following the EC order. SP leader and minister in UP cabinet Shivpal Yadav said the government would follow the EC order.

Meanwhile Lalji Tandon has said, “Unless I go through the papers, I won’t make any statement because the EC is a constitutional body.”

However, BJP spokesperson Arun Jaitley tried to clean his hands off the matter saying the sari distribution was not a part any BJP function.

Bureau Report