Begin typing your search...

Edappadi K Palaniswami demands central observer for local body polls

AIADMK joint coordinator and leader of the opposition (LoP) party Edappadi K Palaniswami has urged the Tamil Nadu state election commission ( TNSEC) to appoint central government officers or officers from other states as nodal officers for upcoming civic polls in 9 districts.

Edappadi K Palaniswami demands central observer for local body polls
X
Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami (File photo)

Chennai

In a communication to the TNSEC, the LoP said that the local body elections in the past had always witnessed large scale violence and rigging of votes creating law and order problems.

Recalling the 2006 local body poll violence, Palaniswami urged the TNSEC to follow the guidelines of the election commission of India and adhere to the practice of appointing general observers who are basically from other states or Central government offices.

The appointment of poll nodal officers from outside the state of Tamil Nadu will help the poll officials to conduct elections in a free and fair manner.

The appointment of such nodal officers will ensure absolute neutrality and this is the only way that all political parties could be held accountable for their conduct in the polls creating a level playing field.

The ADMK leader also demanded complete CCTV camera surveillance during the election process and pointed out that in the previous elections and untoward violence took place under the nose of local state police.

So it is advisable that CRPF or CISF units may be deployed like that of the assembly and the Lok Sabha polls that are conducted by the election commission of India.

The AIADMK leader also alleged that the state election commission has given a very small notice of the time for the opposition and other smaller parties to prepare for the elections and this short note of time and a and two-phased schedule for civic polls will only help the ruling party to misuse their official machinery, EPS alleged.

The leader of the opposition also said that the state election commission should restrict the use of star campaigners considering the Corona pandemic situation. The number of people to attend campaigns may be limited to 100 people in an open space and 50 in a confined space, so that there are spread of the Covid virus can be restricted.

The AIADMK joint coordinator also urged the state election commission to restrict the number of convoy vehicles used by each political party and urged not to allow more than five vehicles at any particular time of the campaign.

EPS also requested the state election commission to consider his demands and concerns so that the conduct of elections are held in a free and fair manner.

Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!

Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!

Click here for iOS

Click here for Android

migrator
Next Story