Ensure impartial rural polls: State Election Commission to Punjab Police
In a four-page letter to Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav on Thursday evening, Raj Kamal Chaudhuri, state election commissioner, stated that the recent events had caused considerable erosion in the perception of the police fairness and neutrality in the election process
Reacting first time on the alleged audio clip of Patiala senior superintendent of police Varun Sharma, the State Election Commission (SEC) has directed the Punjab Police to ensure free, fair and impartial election process during the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections scheduled on December 14.
In a four-page letter to DGP Gaurav Yadav on Thursday evening, Raj Kamal Chaudhuri, state election commissioner, stated that the recent events had caused considerable erosion in the perception of the police fairness and neutrality in the election process.
“Although no doubt it is a matter now under investigation, such activities give occasion to the general public to distrust the neutrality and unbiasedness of the official machinery, and it takes great effort to restore the public confidence in the election machinery. Such occasions are no doubt far and few between, but when they do arise, then stringent action is needed to restore the status quo ante,” Chaudhary said.
The SEC directions came a day after the Punjab and Haryana high court directed the commission to issue stringent directions to police personnel deployed on poll duty to conduct themselves in a non-partisan manner.
In the letter, Chaudhuri said these elections were being contested on party lines, and therefore it was but natural that as in any healthy democratic system, these would be keenly contested. “Thus, it becomes incumbent on the election machinery to not only remain completely impartial, but also demonstrate and display faimess, non-partisanship and neutrality, so as to gain public trust,” he added.
“All ranks are expected to be completely neutral, unbiased, and non-partisan, and strictly refrain from indulging in any activity which could be considered to be deleterious to the concept of free and fair elections,” he said.
The commissioner also mentioned that instances had been reported where SHOs or other senior police officers had tried to arrest or intimidate members of opposite parties by involving them or threatening to involve them in false or disputable police cases.
He directed that all DSPs may review such cases and ensure that no person was unlawfully detained with the intention to force him to capitulate or refrain from contesting or voting.
IAS, PCS officers appointed as election observers
The SEC on Friday said IAS and senior PCS officers had been appointed as election observers in all districts to conduct the rural elections in a fair manner.
Apart from this, the commission has appointed six senior IPS officers as police observers to monitor the law and order situation during the conduct of these elections in various districts, including Patiala, Sangrur, Barnala, Tarn Taran, Rupnagar, Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Moga.
