Ahead of local body elections in Punjab that are due next month, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday urged the State Election Commission (SEC) to requisition paramilitary forces for the conduct of free and fair elections.
In a letter to commissioner Jagpal Singh Sidhu of the SEC, former Minister and senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema demanded that videography be conducted both inside the booth as well in the office of the returning officers to ward off attempts of booth-capturing and other malpractices.
He also demanded that online filing of nominations be allowed and candidates be issued ‘no dues certificates’ on the basis of self-declarations pending verification.
Mr. Cheema also asked the SEC to establish a round-the-clock control room so that it could keep itself abreast with all developments and be able to take appropriate action in case of violations of the model code of conduct immediately. He also asked the Commission to make its e-mail address as well as Twitter handle public so that people could approach it easily.
Mr. Cheema also requested the Commissioner to hold a meeting with all political parties to sort out pending issues. “Voter lists had still not been provided and there was confusion about the new wards which had been created recently. Candidates were finding it difficult to get their ‘no dues certificates’ with executive officers not sitting in office deliberately. All these issues need to be resolved with the intervention of the SEC,” said Mr. Cheema.
A delegation of Punjab Bharatiya Janta Party, led by party leader Anil Sarin, also met the Commissioner and demanded that civic bodies elections should be held under the watch of central police forces.
