Tamil Nadu: Rs 23.28 Crore Cash And Goods Seized
The demand for exempting the covering of statues and images of past leaders was raised at the all-party meeting held in Chennai after the announcement of the poll schedule by various leaders and the Election Commission of India had now agreed to it.
Chennai: Cash and goods valued at Rs 23.28 crore had been seized till Tuesday as 2,160 flying squads, 2,160 static surveillance teams (each constituency having 9 flying squads and 9 static surveillance teams), were actively engaged in intensive monitoring operations throughout the State, Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik said.
In a statement on Tuesday, she said statues of deceased leaders need not be covered as per the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) though photographs of politically active leaders displayed in public places or government buildings must be covered immediately.
The demand for exempting the covering of statues and images of past leaders was raised at the all-party meeting held in Chennai after the announcement of the poll schedule by various leaders and the Election Commission of India had now agreed to it.
The seizures, made as part of the Election Expenditure Monitoring and Enforcement Measures taken after the model code of conduct came into force with the announcement of the election dates on Sunday, were being investigated.
The meticulous monitoring and accounting of candidates’ election expenditure were being undertaken with the primary objective of ensuring fairness for all contesting candidates whether they represented recognized political parties or were contesting as independent candidates, she said.
As per the prescribed norms, a candidate contesting in the Assembly election was permitted to incur election-related expenditure up to a maximum limit of Rs 40 lakh and to effectively monitor that, a robust multi-tier election expenditure monitoring mechanism had been established at the district level under the supervision of the respective District Election Officers, she said.
In order to ensure stringent enforcement, all 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu had been equipped with dedicated surveillance teams, including flying squads and static surveillance teams and 25 Election Expenditure Monitoring agencies such as the Income Tax Department, Customs Department and others, she said.
To facilitate public participation in ensuring free and fair elections, District Election Control Rooms had been established in all districts and complaints received from the public were being promptly acted upon, she said.
District Election Officers were also closely monitoring adherence to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by all stakeholders and 1.68 lakh of defacements had been removed and FIRs had been registered in 61 cases with further legal action under progress, she said.
Individuals carrying cash, be it members of the public, political party representatives, candidates or traders would have to provide valid documentary evidence or written explanation regarding the source and intended purpose of the funds to help the authorities ascertain that the money was not meant for distribution to voters, she said, adding that the District Grievance Committee could be approached for any appeal against the decision of the authorities.
