Agartala, Apr 24, 2024, TRIPURATIMES Desk

Agartala, April 24: Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman on Wednesday accused the BJP candidate for East Tripura Parliamentary Constituency Kriti Singh Debbarma and alleged that she had manipulated her surname to attract larger vote share in this Lok Sabha election.

Addressing a press conference here at Agartala Congress Bhavan, Barman shared a representation letter of the Congress state in-charge Girish Chodankar to the Election Commission of India and alleged, “As per the election affidavit submitted by Kriti Singh in 2018 declaring her candidature from Kawardha Assembly Constituency during the Chhattisgarh State Assembly Elections, she gave her full name as "Kriti Devi Singh". Further, even in her election affidavit declaring her nomination from the Tripura East (ST) Parliamentary Constituency, while submitting the details of her Permanent Account Number and the status of filing of income tax return, it is evident that her name as per her PAN details is "Kriti Singh".”

“On no previous occasion has Kriti Singh used the surname "Debbarman" in her election affidavit or in any official documentation or Government ID. It is submitted that Kriti Singh has deliberately used the surname "Debbarman" in an attempt to secure a larger voter-share in her bid to be elected from the Tripura East (ST) Parliamentary Constituency,” Barman told reporters.

He alleged that the ‘malafide’ actions on part of Kriti Singh are in direct violation of provisions of the Model Code of Conduct issued by the ECI.

The representation letter as shared by Barman states, “Non-disclosure/omission in Smt. Kriti Singh's nomination affidavit amounts to falsifying her nomination form and further attracts the rigours of Section 125A of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951.”

Stating that Kriti Singh has deliberately attempted to leverage caste to appeal to voters, Barman sought the intervention of ECI and demanded enquiry into the officers who approved Kriti Singh's election affidavit, despite the false claims being apparent.

On the other hand, Barman alleged that the election to the West Parliamentary Constituency was turned into a farce. He demanded the election commission to ensure peaceful voting to the East Parliamentary Constituency on April 26.