SEC laments unfortunate decision

Officials of the state election commission today said it was unfortunate that they had had to move court to resolve the conflict with the state government.

State election commission secretary Tapas Roy said,It is unfortunate that we have had to approach the court on the matter.

The officials argued that Section 42 of the West Bengal Panchayat Elections Act,2003,that gives power to the state government to issue notification for the rural polls in consultation with the commission,is not consistent with Section 243K of the Constitution.

An SEC official said that under Section 243K,which empowers the commission to conduct the elections,there are provisions for the commission to ask for additional staff to hold the polls from the Governor.The additional staff means security forces as well,the official added.

Section 243K of the Constitution says that supervision,direction and control of panchayat elections will be vested in the SEC,and so without legal help it is difficult to solve the stalemate,officials said.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram