The All-India Turmeric Farmers’ Association leaders in New Delhi on Monday met the higher authorities in Election Commission of India (ECI) and complained against the Returning Officer and other election officers in Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh for their alleged and deliberate non-cooperation when turmeric farmers filed nominations.
In a memorandum submitted to the ECI they alleged that the RO rejected 24 nominations and accepted only one from turmeric farmers even though they were all in right order and demanded action against the election officers. They said that ever since the 50 farmers from the district reached Varanasi on April 26 Intelligence police surrounded the place where they resided.
The police officers there deliberately stopped the proposers from filing nominations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the AITFA leaders. The police raided the Silk City Hotel where the farmers checked in on April 27 and 28 and prevented them from proceeding to the Collector’s office. “We humbly request the ECI to punish the police officers responsible for stopping farmers,” they said.
They complained that the election officers in Varanasi acted with malafide intention in rejecting nominations of 24 farmers. The AITFA president P.K. Deivasigamani, State president K. Narsimham Naidu, Tamil Nadu president Ramagounder Muthali, members Nagalingam and K. Devaraj were in the delegation.