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BJP chief urges Election Commission to announce Gujarat poll schedule

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The Bharatiya Janata Party chief, M Venkaiah Naidu, on Wednesday urged the Election Commission to 'immediately announce' the schedule for the assembly election in Gujarat.

"There are no reasons for postponing them any further," he said.

"Elections are the essence of democracy," Naidu told the media. "The polls will enable the people to exercise their right of having a government of their choice so that it could take care of their problems."

He said the EC had provided enough time for the preparation of the electoral rolls in the state. "The situation there is normal and so are the political activities," he said.

He said the polls were held under difficult circumstances in Assam, Punjab and Mizoram. "There is no comparison with Gujarat where the situation is normal," he said.

"We [BJP] feel that the EC should not deprive the people of Gujarat of their democratic rights," he said. "There is tremendous response to [Chief Minister Narendra] Modi's Gujarat Gaurav Yatra."

He said his party was 'fully prepared to participate in the polls' and that an elected government could take the relevant policy decisions for the betterment of the people.

"Indefinite postponement of the Gujarat polls is a negation of democracy," the BJP chief said.

Asked how the BJP could justify such a demand when the presidential reference on the issue was pending before the Supreme Court, Naidu said he was 'merely requesting the commission'.

Naidu also congratulated the people of Jammu and Kashmir for participating in the assembly election, which, he said, showed their commitment to democracy.

Gujarat Elections 2002: The complete coverage

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