Statesman News Service
MALDA, (India) Dec. 12 — The Election Commission today sought a list of poll-related violence which occurred in different polling stations in the last general elections in Malda, officials said.
The authorities said the commission had also sought an “action taken report” from the administration with regard to poll violence recorded in the police department.
A two-member team, led by the commission secretary, Mr RK Srivastav, today met the district magistrate, superintendent of police and other officials concerned and instructed them to review the situation in those areas where poll violence occurred in connection with action taken against the culprits.
They also suggested implementing Section 32 under the RP Act (Representation of People Act) for ‘duplicate’ names.
“Under the process of electoral roll revision, through receiving of objections and hearing, the block-level election officials will start field verification. After hearing the applicants, the election officials will visit the locations and houses to verify the existence of the voters appeared in the hearing for inclusion of their names”, said Mr Abhijit Choudhuri, the Malda district magistrate.
Though it is very difficult to detect duplications, section 32 of the RP Act would be applied in keeping with the Election Commission directive“, the Malda DM told this correspondent.
The process for detection of duplicate names will be started very soon, he added.
Official sources said the team had selected some areas at random including the very area close to the Indo-Bangla border from the information and data supplied by the district administration.
The team today visited some stations of Old Malda, Gazole, Ratua I, Ratua II, Kaliachak III and English Bazaar block areas where district election officials conducting hearing for revision of electoral rolls.
The team will also visit Murshidabad tomorrow and then Nadia and Birbhum, officials said.
Club booths
The Election Commission has asked for a report on the polling stations located at club premises across the state following complaints about partisan roles taken by some club organisers during earlier polls.
The chief election commissioner, Mr BB Tandon, came across such allegations during his visit to north Bengal last week, state chief electoral officer Mr Debashis Sen said today.
The state government is likely to suggest to the EC to hold Assembly polls in the state from the third week of April onwards.
Though no such formal request has been made to the EC, Mr Sen pointed out that higher secondary examination would be over by 13 April and joint entrance examination would end on 23 April. Earlier, the state home secretary, Mr PR Roy, also maintained that the government would prefer the three-phased polls between the end of April and the first half of May.
The EC wants to hold Assembly polls in five states almost simultaneously while Assam chief minister prefers it in the first half of April.
West Bengal polls are likely be held closely in view of the logistical factors involving movement of central para-military forces in the two states, senior officials at Writers’ Buildings observed.
State government will finalise its position following the CPI-M politburo meeting which begins tomorrow in Delhi.
Meanwhile, the CEO’s department will open 65 permanent centres for issuing photo-identity cards to voters at the sub-divisional and district headquarters level across the state by 31 December, in a bid to ensure photo-identity cards to every voter.
The CEO will submit another report to the EC tomorrow on the status of residents of 111 Indian enclaves surrounded by Bangladesh territory at the Cooch Behar border.
No census has been done on the population of those isolated villages after 1951. Neither the 10900 Indians living there have been enrolled in the voters’ list, Mr Sen said.
Bangladesh too has 51 such enclaves inside India. Mr Tandon became aware of the plight of these stateless people during his recent visit.
Additional reporting by Kolkata
No comments:
Post a Comment