State Congress vice president, Tapas Dey, in a letter to Chief Electoral Officer S Taranikanti on Tuesday evening, mentioned that they had received reports of fake indelible ink being used in the parliamentary elections in the first phase in West Tripura constituency.

A similar kind of ink and artificial fingers, imported by the BJP in the state are likely to be used in the East Tripura seat also, Dey wrote in the letter. “Fake indelible ink was used during the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections in the West Tripura constituency. We apprehend that similar ink is likely to be used during the polls in the East Tripura seat too. This will facilitate multiple false voting in the state,” the Congress veteran wrote in the letter.

In turn, the BJP claimed YouTube was the source of such ‘ fake news’. “These videos went viral five years ago. These are all fake news. I request the opposition parties to concentrate on their campaign rather than making such wild allegations,” BJP chief spokesperson Dr. Ashok Sinha said.

Polling in the East Tripura seat, scheduled for April 18, was deferred to April 23 on issues related to security and law and order, a notification issued by the Election Commission stated on Tuesday night.

The ruling BJP and opposition parties CPM and Congress welcomed the decision of the Election Commission. After the poll was deferred, the Election Commission transferred Tripura’s Additional Director General (Law and Order) Rajiv Singh due to several incidents related to failure of law and order under his command.

VS Yadav, an IPS officer of 1987 cadre, was directed to take charge as Special DGP. The West Tripura constituency, one of the two Lok Sabha seats of the state, went for polls in the first phase on April 11. The constituency saw a total voter turnout of 83.1%.