The Election Commission has withdrawn the order transferring IAS officer Pawan Kumar Sain, who is functioning as its observer in CSM Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh, to South Goa as its District Election Officer-cum-Collector. It had claimed on Monday that the order to shift Mr. Sain had nothing to do with the controversy involving his stopping a motorcycle rally flagged off by Priyanka Gandhi's husband, Robert Vadra.
Now another IAS officer Daulat A. Havaldar has been posted in South Goa.
There were reports that the 2005 batch IAS officer was shifted as he had ordered stopping of the rally flagged off by Mr. Vadra and he had filed an FIR report against the Congress candidate for Salon Seat, Shivbalak Passi, in whose support the campaign was made. The Assembly segment comes under Amethi, represented by Mr. Vadra's brother-in-law Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha.
The EC, in its meeting here on Tuesday, decided that he would continue in U.P. till the elections were over.
Describing some media reports vis-à-vis its earlier decision to shift Mr. Sain as “unwarranted,” the EC said this decision had been baselessly linked to certain enforcement action taken by him. “The officer acted in accordance with the law and fully in conformity with EC's instructions.”
