The Hindu : Front Page : Shoot-at-sight orders in Bihar

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Wednesday, Oct 26, 2005

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Shoot-at-sight orders in Bihar

J. Venkatesan

62 constituencies will go to the polls amid shoot-at-sight orders; red alert sounded on border

TAKING NO CHANCES: Security personnel check vehicles at Hajipur on the eve of the second phase of the Bihar Assembly elections. — Photo: Ranjeet Kumar

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New Delhi: The second phase of Assembly polls in Bihar for 62 constituencies will be held on Wednesday amid shoot-at-sight orders in force and a red alert sounded along the Indo-Nepal international borders.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Lok Jansakthi Party are contesting 58 seats each, Bharatiya Janata Party 26, Bahujan Samaj Party 53, Janata Dal (U) 41, Samajawadi Party 38, CPI (ML) 22, Congress 15, CPI 11, CPI (M) 5 and NCP 3. Elections in seven constituencies have been deferred for security reasons. Polling would be held in these constituencies on October 29. Further, the Election Commission has ordered repoll in 114 booths that went to the polls on October 21 on the basis of the report submitted by the Special Observer K.J. Rao.

Political heavyweights whose fate would be decided on Wednesday are former Chief Minister Rabri Devi (RJD), State Congress president Sadanand Singh, senior BJP leader Ashwani Kumar Choubey, former Leader of Opposition Upendra Prasad Kushwaha(JD-U), former Minister Ramai Ram (RJD), Monajir Hasan (JD-U), Pashupati Kumar Paras(LJP) and Veena Shahi (Congress).

An RJD-led UPA delegation met the Election Commission on Tuesday and complained about Mr. Rao, accusing him of acting as an "extra-constitutional authority." They voiced their protest for the registration of cases against Union Minister Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav in a poll-related incident involving his brother who was allegedly caught carrying weapons and liquor bottles.

The leaders said that Mr. Narayan Yadav was innocent and the police released his brother Vijay Prakash, RJD candidate from Jamui Assembly constituency. False cases had been registered against the Union Minister as a reaction, they alleged.

`Suspend SP'

The UPA also urged the Commission to suspend the Superintendent of Police of Jamui, Arvind Kumar, for his unlawful action and utter disregard for human rights in the first phase of polling on October 18, when he thrashed RJD candidate Vijay Prakash.

The delegation said though "we fully support any legal action against any accused persons, [the] same cannot be made a pretext for taking the law into [one's own] hands for certain offences." The UPA also demanded initiation of a suitable penal, administrative and disciplinary action against the SP for the offences committed by him to ensure that such illegal and inhuman acts did not recur in future.

Flag marches

Patna Special Correspondent reports: The paramilitary forces conducted flag marches to build confidence in the 1.3 crore voters to exercise their franchise freely and decide the fate of 492 candidates in the fray.

Apart from keeping an aerial vigil in IAF choppers, commandos would patrol the waters in motorboats to check the movement of criminal gangs which operate in the islands of the Ganga river and other tributaries that crisscross the 11 districts going to the polls on Wednesday.

Deploying about 90,000 police personnel, including 537 companies of central forces, the Election Commission has made it clear that that election would not be held at booths which were not provided necessary security.

The EC's advisor K.J. Rao, after a visit to the Aurai constituency where election is due on Wednesday, has deferred polls at 12 booths affected by floods to November 13 along with the third phase of election in 72 constituencies.

The LJP MP and general secretary, Suraj Bhan Singh, and the JD(U) candidate and strongman from Mokama, Anant Singh, have been debarred from entering Begusarai during the election.

To prevent the leaders from creating problems, a heavy posse of security personnel has been tagged along with them.

The government has also deputed a cameraman who would videotape their movement.

There are half a dozen political veterans of different hues in the arena.

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