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Chief election officer writes to government over ‘violations by MLAs’
Responding to the CEO’s letter on Monday, a circular was issued by the Delhi Legislative Assembly to all members asking them to adhere to the poll code.
The office of Delhi’s chief electoral officer (CEO) has shot off a letter to the Delhi government for alleged violations of the model code of conduct (MCC) by its MLAs who “tried to lure voters in the garb of field inspections”.
Responding to the CEO’s letter on Monday, a circular was issued by the Delhi Legislative Assembly to all members asking them to adhere to the poll code.
The CEO’s letter, dated March 26, stated “the activities appear to be in violation of instructions issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI).”
“Certain public representatives/MLAs, in complete disregard of the MCC, accompanied by government officials, representatives of RWAs and market associations are luring voters while carrying out field inspections during the work of installation of CCTV cameras in various residential colonies and markets,” the letter read.
The letter, addressed to the principal secretary, general administration department (GAD), and returning officers of each parliamentary constituency, has sought “strict compliance of the MCC” on part of public representatives.
The CEO’s office received 619 complaints of poll code violations on the C-vigil app, floated this year by the ECI for citizens to register their complaints.
Of the this, 459 were found to be genuine, a senior official said. The poll code came into effect on March 10.
The highest number of complaints received – 210 – were from the New Delhi parliamentary constituency while the lowest – 10 – were from Northeast Delhi.
Most complaints were about defacement of public spaces by putting up political posters and banners, while some are regarding illegal meetings at public places, officials said.
“The reason for the high number of complaints from the New Delhi seat must be owing to greater awareness and usage of smartphones in that area. In constituencies that have more slum clusters and unauthorised colonies such as Northeast, East and Shahdara, the number of people aware about the app and its use could be low,” an official said.
The official response time of the app is 100 minutes. However, many complainants said it took over 24 hours for their complaint to be looked into. “Initially, there were some glitches, which were fixed and the complaints are responded to within 100 minutes. In a few, the investigation may take long. At present, only six complaints are pending a decision,” another official said.
Meanwhile, 97 FIRs/DD entries have been registered against both political parties as well as non-political entities till date for violations of the poll code, Delhi’s CEO Ranbir Singh said Monday. Of these, 23 FIRs/DD entries are against political parties including 10 against the BJP, 10 against AAP, two against Congress and one against Bahujan Samaj Party. The remaining 74 are against non-political entities.
