EC appoints special observers for 6 states, incl. Bengal
The Election Commission of India (EC) has appointed special observers for six states, including Bengal for the Lok Sabha elections. The six are Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.
The move by the EC comes a day after four MPs from the ruling Trinamool Congress in Bengal—Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen, Saket Gokhale and Sagarika Ghose—met the full panel of the body, urging it to take measures to ensure a level playing field for all parties, especially in Bengal and other non-BJP-ruled states.
The responsibility of the special observers is to ensure a level playing field for all parties in these states.
The special observers will be appointed under two categories for the states—‘general’ and ‘police’. They will be appointed from among former civil servants with very good track records.
The measures urged to be taken by the Trinamool Congress team include restraining Union government-controlled agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, National Investigation Agency and Income Tax Department from taking action against the candidates, leaders and workers of the Trinamool Congress and other anti-BJP parties till the conclusion of Lok Sabha elections, and issuing immediate transfer orders to the directors of these agencies, similar to the way the EC transfers senior police and other officers in many states for the duration of the elections to remove any chance of governments using the officers to influence election results.
