Jena accuses BJD of using money to buy votes

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Jan 8, 2014 at 6:40 PM

OST Bureau

Bhubaneswar, Jan 8:

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Congress leader and Union minister Srikant Jena has accused the ruling BJD of extensively using money power to garner votes in today’s Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls and said it posed a serious threat to democracy.

“The very fabric of democracy is threatened. Extensive use of money to buy votes poses a serious challenge”, the Congress leader told media persons here.

Union minister Jena accused the State Election Commission (SEC) of remaining a mute and helpless spectator while BJD workers unashamedly and openly distributed cash in different wards of the municipal body to buy votes.

He said the use of black money by the ruling party has been clearly exposed in today’s urban body polls.

Jena made the comment after Congress lodged a formal complaint with the SEC against the BJD on Tuesday charging it with distributing cash among voters.