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Journalism of Courage
Declaration of assets by candidates for the Lok Sabha elections was only half the story. Now, the Election Commission (EC) has sent the affidavits to the Income Tax Department which will cross-check the details. This, apart from the accounts candidates have to submit for their poll spending, to be verified against the figures put up by expenditure observers.
‘‘We have put the affidavits declaring assets and liabilities (of candidates) together on CDs. It has been sent to the IT department for evaluation,’’ Deputy Election Commissioner and EC spokesperson A.N. Jha said.
Besides, the EC is giving final touches to its recommedations on electoral reforms to the government, including suggestions to keep ‘‘tainted people out of the electoral fray’’.
As part of the corrective measures taken to minimise errors in electoral rolls, the EC is preparing new rolls incorporating photographs of the voters. ‘‘It would tried in the urban centres before it percolates to the rural areas,’’ Jha said.
Mumbai, where largescale deletion was reported during the recent Lok Sabha elections, will be the trial case. And, for the first time, delivery post offices will be designated locations in Maharashtra — where Assembly elections are scheduled this year — where claims and objections on the electoral rolls can be submitted.
