Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Oct 26: After expressing serious concern over Government departments resorting to large scale transfers and postings of officers in violation of guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Jammu and Kashmir today directed all the District Election Officers of the State to furnish lists of officers and officials, who have been overstaying on their respective posts, and those posted in their home districts within two days positively.
The CEO has also stayed the operation of the order of Rural Development Department whereby large number of Block Development Officers (BDOs) were transferred by mentioning the back date and directed all the DEOs to straight forward refuse to obey all those orders of the Government departments, which violates the ECI guidelines keeping in view the enforcement of Model Code of Conduct.
These as well as several other directions were issued by the CEO, Umang Narula while interacting with all the District Election Officers (Deputy Commissioners) and District Superintendents of Police through video-conferencing this afternoon.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that the Chief Electoral Officer had a detailed discussion with the DEOs about the arrangements made for ensuring free and fair Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and steps, which are required to ensure strict compliance to the Model Code of Conduct by the Government machinery.
The CEO directed that the recent order issued by the Secretary, Rural Development Department regarding transfers and postings of large number of BDOs shall not be complied with as the same was issued in violation of the Model Code of Conduct, sources said. The CEO has learnt that the order was issued by mentioning back date in order to ensure that it doesn’t come under the purview of the Model Code of Conduct.
Majority of BDOs, who were shifted from one place to another, belong to Kashmir valley while as their number in Jammu region is less than 10, sources informed.
“The CEO has directed the DEOs to submit by tomorrow evening the lists of all those officers, who are continuing on their respective posts for the past more than three years and those, who are still posted in their home districts so that necessary directions are passed to the State Government”, sources said.
It is pertinent to mention here that Election Commission of India guidelines do not permit any officer to remain posted in his/her home district during the elections. This is done to ensure complete transparency in the elections.
Disclosing that Election Commission, for the first time, has directed that deployment of police personnel should also be ensured on the pattern of civil staff, sources said that in order to ensure implementation of this directive, CEO has asked all the District SPs to ensure posting of police personnel through computer randomization.
“This will be done by the District SPs in the presence of concerned District Election Officer so that chances of intimidating the voters is reduced to zero”, sources said while disclosing that civil staff is posted only by way of this exercise.
During the video-conferencing, which was also attended by Secretary, Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the CEO directed that Law Department should pass the order regarding appointment of Sector Magistrates soon after receiving the names of officers and officials for the task from the concerned District Election Officer.
According to the sources, all the District Election Officers have been directed to ensure submission of information by the Expenditure Monitoring Cell on day-to-day basis to the Chief Electoral Officer. They have further been directed to ensure completion of investigation into the complaints vis-à-vis elections and submission of report to the office of Chief Electoral Officer within 48 hours positively so as to enable the Election Commission to take appropriate action.
The CEO also issued schedule for First Level Checking (FLC) of Electronic Voting Machines at the District Headquarters in the presence of the representatives of the political parties and submission of plan for those areas, which require helicopter sorties to airlift men and machinery for the elections.
In response to a question, sources said that all the DEOs and District SPs have been made accountable for ensuring 100% voting by all the civil and police staff posted in different parts of the State through postal ballots. “This is being done to see that while ensuring electorates to cast votes smoothly they (civil and police staff) don’t remain deprived of their democratic right”, sources added.
The directions were also issued for immediate activation of Media Certification and Monitoring Committee to strictly keep watch on paid news.
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