Rajbiraj, June 5

Former National Human Rights Commission Chairman and ex-Justice Kedarnath Upadhyay today stressed the role of all stakeholders to conduct phase II polls in free, fair and fearless manner.

Speaking at a programme in Rajbiraj, Upadhyay held that deployment of security forces with arms at voting centres alone would not ensure elections in a free and credible manner.

“The elections can be held successfully only when we are able to dispel fear and terror from the minds of voters”, Upadhyay said. He urged the political parties, civic society and stakeholders to be sensitive about conducting the polls in free and fair manner.

Human rights activist Sushil Pyakurel accused the Election Commission of being the government’s puppet. “Elections protect people’s rights. Both EC and the government have lacked on many fronts in connection with the polls,” he added. Stating that some political parties’ ego had augmented of late, Pyakurel argued that it was wrong of the parties to assume themselves to be above the law.