Election Commission orders crackdown on anti-socials

They also elicited views of representatives of political parties in Puducherry.

April 08, 2016 12:00 am | Updated 08:46 am IST - PUDUCHERRY:

PUDUCHERRY, 07/04/2016,Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi addressing pressconference
after holding discussion with representatives of political parties and top officials in Union Territory of Puducherry on Thursday. Photo:T. Singaravelou

PUDUCHERRY, 07/04/2016,Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi addressing pressconference
after holding discussion with representatives of political parties and top officials in Union Territory of Puducherry on Thursday. Photo:T. Singaravelou

Even though the Election Commission has expressed satisfaction over the overall poll preparedness in the Union Territory of Puducherry, it has directed the authorities to step up preventive action against anti-social elements and surveillance so that distribution of money and liquor is fully curbed.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Nasim Zaidi, along with Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat and other poll officials held meetings with officials including Chief Secretary Manoj Parida, Chief Electoral Officer V.Candavelou, Inspector-General of Police Praveer Ranjan.

They also elicited views of representatives of political parties in Puducherry.

Addressing press conference here, Mr. Zaidi said the Commission has directed all authorities to take more effective action against the anti-social elements and hooligans. “There is need for preventive action to ensure that the campaigning is peaceful and there is a level-playing field for all political parties and candidates.

“We have directed that the model code of conduct has to be enforced strictly and uniformly. It will be personal responsibility of District Magistrates and SPs to ensure that no voter is intimidated and no person is allowed to interfere with election process. The Commission will monitor the process on a real time basis,” said Mr.Zaidi.

The operations to effect seizure of unaccounted money needs to be stepped up further in coming days, he added.

Stating that there should be comprehensive security plan particularly at booth level, the CEC added that this time the presence of central paramilitary force would be more than last time and all vulnerable police stations would be covered by them.

He said after the recent additions and deletions, as of date 9,35,575 voters were on the electoral rolls.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.