Chandigarh, December 28: The uncertainty prevailing over the holding of elections to 13,276 gram panchayats in Punjab was clarified on Thursday by the State Election Commission which made it clear that the election would be held “as per schedule”.
The declaration by the State Election Commission secretary Dr Kamal Kumar came after the Punjab and Haryana High Court refused to accept, as of now, Punjab Government’s plea to recall or modify its orders wherein it had given the competent authorities 48 hours after receiving the complaints to redress the grievances of the rejected candidates.
The Commission secretary said that as the High Court has not ordered any stay on the election process, the election process would continue as per schedule while complying with the Court directives to redress representations of the rejected candidates within 48 hours. At the same time, he denied having any complied data of the representations or complaints received by the returning officers in the districts.
“There can be stray instances or cases where elections may be postponed, but as a whole, the elections would be held on December 30 only,” he said, while adding that already published ballot papers would also be revised wherever needed.
Kumar said that the Court has not fixed or specified any date as deadline, and all that it has directed that the representations, made to the competent authorities, be redressed within 48 hours.
Till about a day before, the clouds of incertitude were looming large on the ongoing process of panchayat elections as both the aspirants and the Government have taken the matter to the corridors of justice.
As many 11,424 applications for the posts of sarpanches and panches across the state were rejected during the scrutiny process. No less than 117 petitions were filed before the High Court by the candidates, whose nominations were rejected during scrutiny.
As the Government failed to place before the Court relevant material and argument against the issues raised by the petitioners, the High Court had not only given liberty to the petitioner candidates to approach the competent authorities or the Deputy Commissioners, but has also allowed other candidates with grievances to seek redressal of their complaints by approaching the competent authority.
Moving the High Court for the recall or modification of its previous order, the State Government has, in fact, apprised the Court of its difficulties following the order. Among other things, the government has told the High Court that ballot papers with names of eligible candidates had already been published.
Besides, the Government has also pointed that those having objection on the election process, has the option of filing the election petition, which could be filed after the election result was declared.
The Government argued that the entire process could not be rescheduled, and the polling on December 30 could not be postponed.
“We have to hold the election this year only because if we postpone the elections for the next year, there will be a tedious task of revising the electoral rolls as on January 1, 2019, there will be more eligible voters,” said Kamal Kumar.
As per the prvisions of law, the elections for the gram panchayats are required to be completed by January 16, 2019, as per the provisions of the law.
As per record, total 49,261 nominations were filed for the post of Sarpanch for 13,276 panchayats in the state, out of which 3,128 were rejected; and out of total 1,65,453 nomination papers received for the Panch candidates, 8,296 were rejected due to various flaws and errors including non-submission of meagre Rs seven per annum chulha tax supposed to be given to the gram panchayat.
The state election commission rejects the papers after receiving reports from the respective returning officers, whose reports are based on the reports from the concerned panchayat officials.
Opposition parties, including AAP and SAD-BJP, have all along been alleging the ruling Congress of using official machinery to win the elections. Though no political party contests panchayat polls on their symbols, candidates are generally supported by them.
Accusing the Congress-led Punjab Government of divesting its employees from their constitutional ‘right to vote’, AAP on Thursday demanded from the State Election Commission to ensure that the government employees must be given an opportunity to avail their right to vote in December 30 panchayat election.
AAP MLA Aman Arora, in a letter written to the state Election Commission, said that it was feared that the government has deliberately debarred the employees from their right to vote fearing that they will vote against the pro-Congress candidates due to widespread anger amongst the employees because of anti-employee policies of the government.
In his letter, Arora said that the employees had brought it to his notice which was confirmed from the poll.
Punjab Gram panchayat polls to be held on schedule conducting administration that the government employees deputed to conduct the panchayat elections on December 30 would not be able to cast their votes because of non-availability of postal ballot papers.
“It is the clear-cut violation of the rights bestowed to every citizen by the Constitution and Rule 22 (1) of Punjab Panchayat Election Rules, 1994, and Punjab Government and Election Commission is responsible for it,” he said.
Arora demanded that the State Election Commission must look into the matter and make special arrangements so that the employees can avail their voting right.
Punjab State Election Commission has allowed the candidates or any other person to arrange videography outside the polling station “at their own cost” in panchayat elections.
Commission’s secretary Dr Kamal Kumar made it clear that if candidate or any other person expresses the desire of videography outside the polling booth, they cannot be prevented from doing so. “There is no need to take permission from any other official in this regard,” he said.
To maintain secrecy of the polling, Dr Kumar, however, made it clear that videography shall not be conducted inside the polling booths.
Divulging further, he said that total 4,363 sarpanches and 46,754 panches have been elected unanimously.
Source Daily Pioneer
