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ECI orders Gujarat poll observer’s removal for announcing posting on Instagram
The election watchdog wrote to Gujarat’s chief electoral officer objecting to the “publicity stunt” and sought Singh’s return to his parent cadre of Uttar Pradesh
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered the removal of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Abhishek Singh as a Gujarat poll observer for announcing his posting in an Instagram post with two photos showing off his security paraphernalia. The election watchdog wrote to Gujarat’s chief electoral officer objecting to the “publicity stunt” and sought Singh’s return to his parent cadre of Uttar Pradesh.
Singh, a 2011 batch IAS officer, said he accepts the ECI order with all humility even as his Instagram handle with three million followers still has the post. One of the photos shows him posing in front of a car with a plate reading: “Election Commission of India Observer.” In the second picture, Singh is seen posing with an armed uniformed person and three others. “Joined Ahmedabad as Observer for Gujarat Elections,” the post said. Singh also uploaded the images on Twitter and Facebook with the same caption.
The ECI said it has taken a very serious view of the matter. “...therefore, Singh has been immediately relieved of his duties.’’ Singh has been directed to leave Ahmedabad, where he was appointed as the observer for Bapunagar and Asarwa assembly constituencies, and to immediately report to his parent cadre. The ECI said all facilities provided to Singh for carrying out his observer duties would be withdrawn.
Krishna Bajpai, a 2010 Karnataka cadre officer, will be in charge of the constituencies until Singh’s replacement is appointed.
Singh, a former actor, has appeared in a music video for singer B Praak. He also featured in the Netflix series Delhi Crime Season 2 and a short film titled Chaar Pandrah.
Another IAS officer posted in Gujarat cited rules and said poll observers are not allowed any kind of media interaction. “Possibly, this would have been the reason [for Singh’s removal].” He added other officers in similar capacities have written social media posts.
The elections in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 1 and December 5. Votes will be counted on December 8.
