‘MNS political stunt won’t woo voters’

Pune: Dubbing MNS candidate Deepak Paygude’s agitation as political stunt, Congress candidate Vishwajeet Kadam on Wednesday said that MNS was trying to vitiate the pre-poll atmosphere through criminals, and Punekars would not fall prey to this conspiracy. Expressing confidence of his victory, Kadam said that he was born and brought-up in Pune and has spent 30 years in the city. At a press conference held at his residence, he said that neither Congress, nor NCP, or any of the alliance parties have criticised the opposition candidates during their campaigning or used abusive language. He said that both BJP and MNS fear defeat in the elections and that is the reason they are resorting to such election gimmicks.
Kadam said that it was unfortunate how MNS party workers beat up Bharati Vidyapeeth employees. Kadam claimed that the three did not violate any code of conduct, nor they were involved in any unlawful activities. He said that after they were discussing about the election at a hotel on Tuesday afternoon, they were suddenly cornered by MNS activists and beaten up. Kadam raised questions about the trio being taken to the MNS party office instead of the police station. Kadam alleged that the footage released by MNS activists to the media clearly shows two criminals on police records being involved in the hassle with the three detained Bharati Vidyapeeth employees. He pointed out that of these two criminals, one is Lahu Mane and the other is Prakash Pawar. Kadam told the media that Lahu Mane has been externed by police but still found he was in the city, while Pawar has many offences registered against him, including a rape case.