Cash for vote: No proof, Parmar gets clean chit

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, October 18

Returning Officer-cum Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, Rakesh Prajapati today gave a clean chit to Health Minister Vipin Parmar. The Congress had last week complained against him, alleging that he was distributing money at the Circuit House in Dharamsala.

When Parmar was sitting at the Circuit House on the evening of October 14, some Congress workers gathered outside and started raising slogans. They alleged that the BJP minister was distributing money among the party workers to influence the electorate. The Congress later filed a complaint with the Election Commission and the local police, following which a show-cause notice was issued to the minister.

Parmar had maintained that he had gone to the Circuit House to have a cup of tea and there was no party worker with him. He had alleged that the Congress was resorting to false propaganda. Prajapati said no evidence was found against the Health Minister. Sources said the district authorities today impounded the vehicle of the chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education (HPBSE) for violating the model code of conduct. The Deputy Commissioner said the vehicle was impounded on the orders of the Chief Electoral Officer.

Yesterday, the district election officer-cum-returning officer had issued a show-cause notice to the chairman of the HPBSE.

In the notice, it had been alleged that while the model code of conduct was in force in Kangra district, the chairman continued to use his official vehicle in violation of the poll code. The complaint was filed before the Chief Electoral Officer on his visit to Dharamsala on October 16. The board officials were asked to file a reply to the notice and also submit the logbook of the vehicle of the Chairman to the returning officer for verification of records.