Chandigarh: Punjab’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Sibin C, held a meeting with the Deputy Commissioners (DC) cum District Election Officers of the state. He directed the DCs to ensure effective implementation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) guidelines so as to ensure free and fair elections.
Sibin C instructed the officials to activate the MCC teams and to remove all violations on public and private places immediately. On C-Vigil, he asked the officials to ensure that 100 minutes time period adhered to in taking action on the complaints.
Notably, C Vigil is a mobile application developed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to empower citizens to report violations of the MCC during elections.
He prescribed the officials to maintain a list of the ongoing works in districts, get ongoing works certified by head of all agencies like Public Works Department, Local Government, Housing and Urban Development Department, Irrigation department etc. and ensure that no other work is started in the district without the permission of the Election Commission.
Guiding the officials, he said that it needs to be ensured that the SUVIDHA portal is working smoothly and permissions are given timely and without bias.
The Suvidha Portal aims to facilitate the process of applying for permissions by political parties and candidates for conducting various election-related activities.
Sibin C directed the officials to conduct meetings with all the political parties and apprise them about the MCC guidelines. He further clarified that the school grounds in Punjab cannot be used for conduct of political meetings.
—Harish Bathla