National
DMK memo to EC on malpractices
By J. Venkatesan
NEW DELHI, JAN. 16. A delegation of DMK MPs, lead by C. Kuppuswami, today presented a memorandum to the Election Commissioner, T.S. Krishnamurthy, seeking the postponement of the by-election to the Andipatti constituency in Tamil Nadu citing several irregularities and malpractices in the revision of rolls.
A number of political parties, including the MDMK general secretary, Vaiko, also sent fax messages urging the Commission to postpone the Andipatti by-election, which were however, rejected by the Commission.
The DMK memorandum said that what applied to the Saidapet and Vaniyambadi constituencies, where elections had been postponed on account of irregularities in the form of enlisting bogus voters and deletion of genuine voters, ``holds good and is applicable in no less measure to the Andipatti constituency. Most importantly, more grave violations and irregularities have taken place in the Andipatti constituency.''
Pointing out that all the political parties in Tamil Nadu, except the AIADMK, had demanded the postponement of the Andipatti election, the memorandum requested the Commission ``to be fair and apply the same yardstick to all three constituencies irrespective of which candidates are likely to contest''.
After presenting the memorandum, Mr. Kuppuswami told reporters that the Commission had asked for specific instances of addition of names in the electoral rolls.
The Commission had assured the delegation that if any electoral malpractice was found to be genuine, the election could be postponed even after the poll process had begun, he said. (Mr. Krishnamurthy, however, declined to meet the press in this regard).
Meanwhile, the Commission Secretary, K.J. Rao, denied the allegation that he did not make proper enquiries in the Andipatti constituency. He said the officials who accompanied him during the on-the-spot visit to the villages, where there were allegations of large-scale addition of names in the rolls, had produced relevant records to show that proper enumeration had taken place.
Action against officials
The Commission, which met this morning, accepted the enquiry report submitted by Mr. Rao and directed the Tamil Nadu Government to transfer the Chennai Corporation Commissioner and to take disciplinary action against him as he had violated the statute and the Commission's instruction by accepting bulk applications in his office and directing the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of Saidapet to get the claims verified with regard to these bulk applications.
The Commission also ordered the transfer of the EROs and AEROs of Saidapet and Vaniyambadi and post officers of integrity and experience to complete the proposed intensive revision of rolls in these constituencies.
It directed the State Government to suspend forthwith the enumerators and supervisors in the polling stations (part of 75, 109 and 281) of Saidapet and part of 149 of Vaniyambadi constituencies as well as take disciplinary action against them.
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