Police meet resident two hours after council poll nominations close

Sunil Mishra

A Nagpur resident, Sunil Gayaprasad Mishra, who has demanded that the May 21 legislative council polls be postponed, was shocked on Monday, when the local police visited him two hours after nominations closed, asking what the issue was about. Mishra had claimed the polls should be postponed as the state government had furnished misleading information about the novel Coronavirus pandemic, and he could not travel to Mumbai to file his nomination because of the lockdown.

Mishra told mid-day from Nagpur that he had reminded the Election Commission of India (ECI) on May 9, when his previous communications to it and the Maharashtra Chief Secretary weren't acknowledged. "I had sought permission to travel and campaign in the lockdown. I was shocked when the local police visited me at 5 pm on Monday to know the issue. The nominations had closed at 3 pm. The police wanted to know where I had applied for permission. When I told them my problem, they took my photograph on a mobile phone and left," he said. Another police team visited Mishra to record his statement later that evening.

"Participating in the polls is my constitutional right. But the lockdown does not allow me to be part of the process as the nomination ends on May 11. I couldn't even prepare documents like the election affidavit. So, your notification on May 1 breaches my rights and hence I request you to stall the elections," Mishra had told the ECI in his reminder.

Deputy Commissioner of Nagpur police, Gajanan Rajmane said he sent a team to verify whether Mishra has applied for a travel pass because they didn't have it on the COVID-19 system for this purpose. "Mishra said he has asked the Chief Secretary for permission," he said. He did not reveal who in Mumbai or New Delhi told Nagpur police to visit Mishra.

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