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Journalism of Courage
The Election Commission (EC) is receiving a host of complaints from voters on the alleged violations of model code of conduct (MCC) in Punjab, enforced for the Lok Sabha polls, ranging from an accusation against a shop in Mukerian for seeking votes for Prime Minister Narendra Modi via advertisements on carry bags, to senior Akali leader Bikram Majithia seeking action against a senior superintendent of police.
A perusal of the complaints received by the EC shows that many pertain to development projects being carried out in violation of the MCC. There are also complaints of government officials refusing to release pending payments unless votes are cast for a particular candidate.
The District Election Officer, Hoshiarpur, acted with alacrity in the case of complaint against ‘Deepu di Hatti’ in Mukerian for seeking votes in favour of Modi. During a surprise check by a team of EC officials, 214 carry bags painted with slogans ‘Just give a promise for support of Narendra Modi in 2019’, ‘Namo Again’, ‘Apne paison ke saath apna desh bhi bachaein (save the country and your money)’ and photograph of the PM were recovered.
These bags have now been deposited with the Mukerian treasury officer and an FIR has been registered against the owners of the shop under Section 127A of Representation of the People Act and relevant section of the IPC.
In another complaint, former minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia sought the transfer of the Amritsar (Rural) SSP, Parampal Singh, alleging that the officer was facing several FIRs and had several court cases pending against him. The EC replaced the SSP with another officer.
In another complaint, filed by a Hoshiarpur resident, the release of biopic on the PM was sought to be postponed till the results were declared so as to ensure free and fair elections. This complaint was forwarded to the EC in New Delhi by the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, S Karuna Raju, taking the plea that his office had no knowledge whether any film named “PM Narendra Modi” was being released in the future.
A complaint filed by the Leader of Opposition, Harpal Cheema, against the PWD Minister, Vijay Inder Singla, is also under the poll panel’s consideration. Cheema has alleged that Singla issued funds worth crores of rupees in order to influence voters in Sangrur parliamentary constituency. State AAP president and sitting Sangrur MP, Bhagwant Mann, is seeking re-election from Sangrur.
Cheema has alleged that the PWD minister has issued funds for the repair and maintenance of government schools during the period when model code of conduct is in force. However, documents shows that the nodal officer for MCC in Sangrur has given a clean chit to Singla saying that Cheema did not appear or send his representative to pursue the complaint. He also said that an amount of Rs 2.5 crore was sanctioned in January 2019 before the code of conduct came into play.
In another instance, a member of the state SC Commission, Darshan Singh, has been warned by the chairperson of the commission not to attend any political function after a complaint against him was received from Jagdish Kumar Jassal, general secretary, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee for participating in an Akali event where Sukhbir Singh Badal was present. The CEO has also written to the EC in New Delhi to initiate action against Darshan Singh for violating the MCC.
A complaint was made against the block development and panchayat officer, Sardulgarh, Neeru Garg, by a woman sarpanch and a member of panchayat that pending payments for some development works were not being released because Garg was asking that first votes should be cast in favour of the Akali candidate. The official has denied the allegations and said that no one met her seeking release of payments and that she has been doing her job without fear or favour.
