AIZAWL, May 6 – The Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF) and the underground Bru National Liberation Front have refuted allegations by Mizoram Opposition parties that the BNLF leaders forcibly collected 3,620 postal ballot papers, reports PTI. A press release issued by the MBDPF, faxed to media here from Kanchanpur in North Tripura, said free and fair polls to Mizoram’s lone Lok Sabha seat was conducted in the relief camps in Tripura on April 20.
“The postal ballot papers, after each voter exercised their franchise, were placed inside envelopes which were sealed and were collected by representatives of NGOs and various church organisations,” the press release said. The NGOs and church representatives handed over the collected ballot papers to the peace delegation members of the BNLF who were going to Aizawl with instruction to drop the envelopes at the most convenient post office.
“It was due to the request made by the NGOs and church leaders that the envelopes containing the ballot papers were handed over to the BNLF peace talk delegation members,” the release, signed by Bruno Msha, president R Laldawngliana, Vice-president and A Sawibunga and Elvis Chorkhy, both general secretaries of MBDPF, said. The BNLF, in separate statement faxed to media here, said the allegations published in some local papers in Aizawl that its leaders had forcibly collected the postal ballot papers from the MBDPF were “totally wrong and baseless”.
A meeting held at Naisingpara relief camp by MBDPF, NGOs and representatives of all the political parties unanimously decided to participate in the Lok Sabha polls, the BNLF statement said. The Bru voters in the Tripura relief camps exercised their franchise on their own will and it was a free and fair poll, it added.
Earlier, three major Opposition parties – the Congress, the Mizoram People’s Conference and the Zoram Nationalist Party had alleged that the BNLF leaders forcibly collected the postal ballot papers with the intention to use them for bargaining with the Mizoram Government during the 12th round of talks slated on April 29. The proposed negotiations were postponed till the election process is over due to the allegations as law-and-order problem was anticipated.
The Opposition party combine submitted a memorandum to the Chief Election Commissioner, who directed the State Election officials to enquire into the matter. Two election officials were sent to the Tripura relief camps. They would soon submit their findings to the returning officer, who would submit the report to the state chief election officer for being sent to the Election Commission.