Panthers party stages protest against 'saffronisation of administration' ahead of poll

The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party staged a protest here on Monday to draw the attention of the visiting Election Commission of India team towards alleged "saffronisation of administration" in the run-up to the upcoming Lok Sabha and the assembly polls. It pressed for holding of parliamentary and state elections together and said the security scenario, which had deteriorated over the years in the state, could be retrieved to a large extent "if the concept of free and fair polls was translated into reality in the true sense".

A high-level team of the EC, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, reached Srinagar on Monday on a two-day visit to assess the feasibility of holding the Lok Sabha and the J-K assembly polls simultaneously. "We organised the protest on the visit of ECI to draw the attention of the apex election body towards the abuse of position and authority by reckless government functionaries for furthering political prospects of their political masters," JKNPP chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh told reporters.

Singh, who led the protest outside press club here, alleged "saffronisation of administration" ahead of the polls and urged the ECI to take cognizance of the "brazen politicisation of administration". "The JKNPP will continue to agitate the matter in all possible forms till action was initiated against such officers," he said.

(With inputs from agencies.)