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The returning officer for presidential election, R C Tripathi, has written to the Election Commission to take strong action against at least five persons who had forged signatures of Members of Parliament to file their nominations.
In a confidential report, submitted by Tripathi, who is the secretary general of Rajya Sabha, it was revealed that some of the candidates had filed nominations with forged signatures of MPs like Abani Roy (RSP) and Akhilesh Singh (Samajwadi Party), official sources said on Tuesday.
Citing a particular example, the report said that a candidate from Varanasi, who filed his nomination form on June 20, had allegedly forged signatures of Roy and Singh, the sources said.
However, during the scrutiny of the nomination forms, it was found that Roy had signed in support of Laxmi Sehgal, Presidential candidate of the Left parties.
During in-house inquiries made by the secretary general's office, Roy is reported to have made it clear that he had not signed on any of the nomination forms expect that of Sehgal.
The report impressed upon the Election Commission to ensure a 'strict and strong' action against such erring people so that a precedent is set for future against such law violators, the sources said.
In another case, a resident of Darbhanga (Bihar), who filed his nomination papers on the last date, had claimed the support of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister George Fernandes and noted industrialist K K Birla, the sources said.
Although his nomination was rejected by the returning officer, the report said, "The misleading information should be taken with a serious view."
Among those mentioned in the report, included a woman from Delhi, who had forged the signatures of some MPs.
Declining to reveal the contents of his letter to the Commission, Tripathi said, "I have sent some reports to the Election Commission, some more are going. It is for the Election Commission to decide."
"I had earlier also mentioned that some signatures (on nomination forms) were forged," he added.
However, Commission officials said, "Action will be taken as and when the report comes before us."
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