The Election Commission (EC) puts the pedal to the yellow metal. After taking steps to ebb flow of black money in the run up to the Assembly election, the Election Commission on Friday decided to monitor trading involving bullion in the national Capital.
The Delhi Chief Electoral officer has already directed the Income Tax department officials to keep a close watch on places like airport and other public places where transaction of money and gold can take place, official sources said. Carrying more than one kilogramme of gold can lead to scrutiny by the Election Commission’s flying squads.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vijay Dev will hold a meeting in this regard on Monday. laying out the modalities of implementation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), officials said if anyone is apprehended carrying gold more than a kilogramme and fails to give satisfactory explanation, it would be reported to the Election Commission. In suspicious cases, gold can even be seized from the person. The step was an effort towards curbing the free flow of black money during elections, said Ankur Garg, the chief nodal officer for Delhi elections.
Garg further said the Commission will also keep a vigil on the bookings of private helicopters, aircraft and has instructed CISF and Air Traffic Control (ATC) to maintain a record of such bookings and inform the Election Commission of any suspicious activities. Recently, the Commission had instructed its flying squad to keep a watch on people carrying more than Rs 50,000 in order to prevent malpractices in the upcoming elections. The Commission has also directed banks to scan all transactions over Rs 1 lakh and keep an eye on suspicious cash withdrawals and deposits.
Vijay Dev held a meeting with representatives of various banks, officials from Financial Intelligence Unit of Finance Ministry and Income Tax department on Thursday to discuss ways to check use of black money during campaigning.