Kohima, January 24 (MExN): The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nagaland, V Shashank Shekhar has directed all district administrations in the State to keep a close eye on misuse official vehicles for electioneering purposes.
According to the CEO, official vehicles cannot be misuse for campaign, electioneering or election related travel during election by political parties, candidates or any other person connected with the poll, including Ministers, MLAs, Personnel Secretary, Personnel Assistant to ministers, Advisors and MLAs as per instructions/guidelines of the Election Commission of India.
The official vehicles include all vehicles belonging to Central and State government, Public undertakings of the Central and State government, Joint sector undertakings of Central and State government, Local bodies, Municipal corporations, Municipalities, Marketing Boards (by whatever name known), Cooperative Societies, Autonomous Districts Councils.
Further, it includes vehicles of any other body in which public funds, however small, as well as those belonging to the Ministry of Defence and the Central Police Organisations under the Ministry of Home Affairs and State Governments.
The Commission guidelines have clearly mentioned that there will be a total and absolute ban on use of official’s vehicles except officials performing any election related official duty, a DIPR report informed.
As per the CEO, ministers are entitled to use their official vehicles only for commuting from their official residence for official works provided that such commuting is not combined with any electioneering or any political activities, it said.
In the Consolidated Instructions 2014 standing order, the ECI has further directed that cars/vehicles under no circumstances will be allowed to move in convoys of more than ten vehicles, excluding the security vehicles, it added.
Accordingly, the CEO directed all the District Administration to keep a close watch to find out if any official vehicle belonging to any authority specified above is being used for electioneering purposes.
If such activities are detected, the District Magistrate "shall, forthwith, requisition or caused to be requisitioned such vehicles, after following due procedure, for election work, under Section 160 of the Representative of the People Act,1951 and such requisitioned vehicles shall not be released until after the completion of the process of elections,” the CEO stated.
All the Deputy Commissioners, Additional Deputy Commissioners and District Election Officers (DEOs), as well as all Heads of Department have been instructed to strictly adhere the Election code of conduct for free and fair election during the 14th General Election to Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) 2023.
The DEOs were also tasked by the CEO to take necessary action for compliance of ECI instructions within 24 hours of the announcement of the elections, the report added.
