District Electoral Officers (DEO) of Amritsar and ludhiana have given clean chit to Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia and SAD-BJP candidate in ludhiana constituency Manpreet Singh Ayali.
Youth Akali Dal (YAD) chief Majithia was charged with using “highly provocative” words, and “trying to incite violence against Congress candidate from Amritsar Capt Amarinder Singh and intimidation of Congress workers”.
The complaint has been filed by Congress spokesperson Sukhpal Singh Khaira, seeking registration of criminal case and immediate arrest of Majithia, alleging that Akali leader tried to “provoke and incite” people to violence against Capt Amarinder, and “also used extreme intimidatory language against Congress cadres and workers by saying that ‘he will teach a lesson to Congress workers by twisting their necks, if they dare to support Capt Amarinder”. The Commission has sought a report from the Amritsar Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer asking to “thoroughly examine the speech’s video footage”.
“After examining the video footage, and consulting with legal attorney and linguistic expert, the DEO has submitted that Majithia used those words as phrase, and not in the actual meaning of those words,” informed Additional Chief Electoral officer Supreet Singh Gulati.
In case of Ayali, where he announced in one of his public rally that any official who would respond to the calls of Simarjeet Singh Bains, sitting MlA and independent candidate in ludhiana, would face the music.
In his reply to the Commission, Ayali has maintained that the video is “tampered with”, and the EC should consider the full version. Giving clean chit, ludhiana DC-cum-DEO in his report has maintained that saying anything like that did not amount to any offence. Earlier also the DEOs from Sangrur, and Patiala has send the reports of the complaints in favour of the ruling combine, following which they were transferred by the Election Commission of India.
DAY 2: 12 NOMINATIONS FIlED
Joint CEO Amit Talwar informed that on the second day of filing the nominations, 12 nominations were filed by 11 candidates in five Parliamentary constituencies, including five candidates. With these nominations the number of total nominations till date has touched 20.
NO PEOPlE’S REPRESENTATIVE CAN ACT AS POllING, ElECTION, OR COUNTING AGENT
In fresh directives, the ECI has directed that any sitting ministers either of Union Government or of a State Government, sitting member of Parliament, or legislative Assembly, Mayor of Corporations or chairpersons of Municipalities, Zila Parishad or Panchayat Union should not be allowed to act as a election agent, polling agent or counting agent of any candidate during lok Sabha polls-2014 with or without security cover.
FEMAlE PSO FOR EVERY FEMAlE CANDIDATE
As per the new ECI directions, every female candidate would now be provided an additional female Personal Security Officer, besides the male PSOs.
2.11 lAKH lICENcED ARMS DEPOSITED
Till date, a total 2,11,341 licenced arms have been deposited. Out of 439 complaints received so far, 266 have already been disposed of, and 173 are pending. 199 complaints pertain to the violation of the Model Code of Conduct, out of which 79 are pending.
CONG SEEKS VVPAT FOR BATHINDA
Punjab Congress on Thursday urged the Election Commission to allocate Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) EVM’s for the “super sensitive” Bathinda lok Sabha constituency. The party made the request on the ground that the Badal family is the “architects of polluting the electoral system in the state”, and it would be most befitting and appropriate to allocate VVPAT EVM’s for Bathinda constituency “to ensure free and fair elections in wake of the likely rigging by the Badal family”.