Syed Tahir Bukhari
BANDIPORA, May 7: National Conference has crossed all the limits by employing a teenager boy, just 12 year old of class 6th , as polling agent, grass root violation of democratic norms and ethics have been seen at polling station no 39 C Kaloosa in North Kashmir's Bandipora district today.
According to sources, in a shameful development and violation of all prescribed democratic norms, polling agent of National Conference Ishfaq Ahmad Dar is just 12 year old, student of class 6th at polling booth no 39 C Kaloosa Bandipora.
All the media persons on the ground have been left dumb founded by this shameful development. When questioned by media persons, polling agent said "I am just a student employed polling agent of NC and don't know much about the voting and all these things," bracingly it looks a farce that one who is such a minor and does not have voting rights is employed as polling agent by the present ruling party of Jammu and Kashmir, sources said.
He added and said, wishing an anonymity polling staff of 39 C Kaloosa Bandipora said, we are here for polling and how can we check age and so on, our duty is to maintain records and allow the voters to cast their vote, it is the party and Government to whom you should ask, said polling staff".
Meanwhile, an uneasy calm prevailed on the peripheries of this Lok Sabha segment during the early hours of Wednesday. It was only armed forces manning the empty roads, surrounded by beautiful orchard fields. People had preferred to stay indoors and the only visible life on the streets was police and armed forces.
At Argam polling booth here, the staff had squeezed in a corner of a room. Barely few minutes before, the building housing the booth, was stoned by unknown youth.
The situation was tenser at Main Chowk Bandipora which had been turned into a garrison and where senior police and CRPF officials kept monitoring the law and order situation and received inputs about the polling percentage. The situation was same, almost everywhere. "These politicians can't fool us anymore. They can't solve even local issues like repairing a transformer or ensuring quality water supply," said a youth Shahid Dar.
On outskirts of Bandipora town, at Shahgund the polling staff was sitting idle at the Government Middle School. None of the voters had cast their vote by early noon.
"Last night there was stone pelting on the polling station at Sumbal. Nobody will come out to vote here too," said, a local. At 4:15 pm, a member of the polling staff at Sumbal which had polled only one vote in the morning said no other person cast his vote. "The counting is stuck at one vote out of 1148 votes," he said. |
