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BJP files complaint with Election Commission against Himachal Pradesh's top bureaucrat

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Opposition BJP in Himachal Pradesh today filed a complaint with Election Commission against acting Chief Secretary P Mitra for allegedly trying to influence officers to toe the line of Congress."We are of the considered view that the continuation of P Mitra as Chief Secretary shall impinge adversely upon the conduct of free and fair elections in the state.

"In the light of the revelations that he has been openly advising officers to toe the political line of Congress, we urge the EC to immediately replace him by any other officer of proven integrity and apolitical standing," state BJP general secretary Trilok Jamwal has written in his complaint.

Alleging that P Mitra has been actively aiding and abetting use of official machinery for furthering the prospects of Congress candidates, the complaint claimed: "A glaring instance is filing of the chargesheet in a court of law against Prem Kumar Dhumal and Anurag Thakur, the latter being BJP candidate from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha Constituency in the case pertaining to the land leased to HPCA and its use" "Mitra while functioning as Financial Commissioner (Revenue) instituted the complaint against our leaders alleging gross irregularities in the process of lease and now in his capacity as Home Secretary, he himself revisited the investigation conducted by the police and has ensured that the police seeks prosecution sanction from the government," Jamwal alleged in the complaint. 

The Vigilance Organisation submitted a 600 page report to the government, seeking sanction to prosecute Dhumal and Thakur along with two to three IAS officers and this voluminous report was processed by Mitra within a few hours and submitted to himself as Chief Secretary for obtaining prosecution sanction from the Governor, Jamwal said. The complaint further claimed that in a meeting convened by the Himachal IAS Officers Association, chaired by Mitra, he openly told the officers that it was the duty of the bureaucracy to carry out the wishes of the political leadership and warned the officers that they would face adverse consequences in case they adopted any resolution that might embarrass the Chief Minister during the elections Claiming that the Chief Electoral Officer Narinder Chauhan was also present in the meeting, the complaint said that these facts can be confirmed/verified from him.

Such blatant attempts to politicise and intimate the bureaucracy while the election process is on is extremely disturbing and unacceptable, Jamwal said.

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