Chennai: In a bid to prevent distribution of cash for votes in the high-profile Radhakrishnan Nagar Assembly constituency, where Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa is in the fray for the bypoll, the Election Commission of India has instructed the local district election authorities to instal 30 secret CCTV cameras at vantage points. The new initiative is hinted at to be the idea of general observer Raju Narayana Swamy, an IAS officer from the 1991 Kerala cadre, appointed as general observer by the ECI for the bypoll.
When contacted, district election officer and Chennai corporation commissioner Vikram Kapur said there were instructions from the ECI to instal 30 hidden CCTV cameras in the constituency. These cameras will be directly monitored by ECI observers and all instructions from the ECI were implemented in letter and spirit to ensure free and fair polls in R.K. Nagar, he said. Besides the secret cameras, regular cameras will be installed at counting stations and sensitive polling booths as per routine election norms.
When asked about the status of the complaints received so far, the DEO said the round-the-clock cell had received very few complaints such as those of posters and unauthorised banners violating the poll code and these complaints were periodically attended to.
Chief electoral officer Sandeep Saxena told DC on Thursday that so far no complaints on cash for votes had been received and maintained that flying squads were positioned to prevent any violation. The ECI has also appointed Manjeet Singh, IRS, (joint director of income-tax, Hubbali) as expenditure observer for the constituency.
