Poll authorities raid Jaya Prada`s hotel

Rampur (UP), May 12 (PTI) Election authorities raided
the hotel where Samajwadi Party leader Jaya Prada was staying,
evoking a strong protest from the actress-turned-politician
and her supporters who blamed her "rival" parties for it.

An official team headed by city magistrate R K Rai
raided last night the Modi Hotel here which has been converted
into the Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate's election office.

Rai said the raid was carried out as the Election
Commission (EC) has ordered that outsiders should not be
present after the end of campaigning.

However, no outsiders were found present in the hotel
at the time of the raid, Rai said, adding that the raid was
not aimed at targeting anyone and that his team would be
carrying out more raids in the constituency Tuesday.

However, Jaya Prada alleged that the rival parties
were behind the action. She accused the raiding party of
harassing her supporters and their children staying in the
hotel.

Terming the raid as "injustice", she said, Congress
cannot tolerate "our heading towards victory and their is a
conspiracy to torture us".

In the midst of a row between the Samajwadi leadership
and Azam Khan on the issue of her candidature, Jaya Prada also
charged Congress and "rival parties" with instigating
"indecent publicity" against her and attacked Khan for the
"conspiracy."

She told reporters here that she was unable to
tolerate the "unfair treatment" meted out to her and that this
was "nothing but torture of a hapless woman".

"This is a conspiracy by rival parties to target me.
All this is happening under the pressure from Congress and it
is beyond limits," the SP candidate said, referring to some
'morphed' CDs of her being circulated in her constituency.

"Voters will definitely respond to this indecent
publicity. This is nothing but torture of a hapless woman and
it has crossed all limits of decency. I am unable to bear it
anymore. This is unfair. I do not want to take it any
further," Jaya Prada said, responding to queries.

Calling the distribution of CDs against her as "very
disgusting," the former cine actress hit out at Azam Khan,
saying: "It is very very unfortunate. He is getting some CDs
distributed and he may well go beyond that too. I have been
quiet because I treat him as my elder brother.I never expected
my brother to do such an obnoxious thing." PTI