Hyderabad: BRS MLC Dr Sravan Dasoju on Thursday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Telangana’s Director General of Police (DGP) to immediately stop the harassment of BRS workers in the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency.
He said local police officers were intimidating party volunteers who were lawfully campaigning. Terming the actions a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), Dr Sravan warned that such interference endangered the fairness of the ongoing election.
According to him, BRS booth-level workers faced repeated threats from field officers during door-to-door campaigns. These officers, he said, wrongly demanded prior permission for small groups, even though ECI guidelines clearly allowed such activity.
Dr Sravan accused the Congress-led state government of misusing the police force for political advantage. “This is not law and order; this is political order imposed by Congress,” he said.
ECI guidelines allow small group campaigns without permission
Citing Chapter VII of the ECI’s Manual on the Model Code of Conduct (2022), he noted that up to 50 people could conduct door-to-door campaigning without prior permission as long as public order was maintained. Therefore, he argued, the police actions in Jubilee Hills violated these provisions and restricted recognised parties from campaigning freely.
He further said the MCC required police and district officials to remain neutral and provide equal opportunity to all political parties. However, the current approach, he added, undermined the democratic spirit of the elections.
Dr Sravan alleged that certain officers, under political pressure, were deliberately blocking BRS’s outreach efforts. He warned that such misuse of police powers could damage public confidence in the electoral process.
He called on the ECI, the Chief Electoral Officer, and the DGP to issue written orders ensuring fair treatment of all parties. His key demands included allowing lawful campaigning, enforcing police neutrality, and safeguarding political rights.
Concluding his appeal, Dr Sravan said, “Free and fair elections are the soul of democracy. The people of Telangana deserve an impartial and fearless election, not one governed by intimidation.”