By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 30 Jan: The State Election Commission has issued notices on cases related to the violation of the model code of conduct (MCOC) during the recently held municipal elections and, in this regard, District Magistrate, Dehradun, Savin Bansal has also been issued a notice over alleged violation of MCOC. In response, the DM has already submitted his explanation, but the State Election Commission seems dissatisfied with the response. Consequently, the Commission has warned the District Magistrate not to repeat such actions in the future. The violation is regarding transfer of a Naib Tahsildar while the MCOC was in force in the district.
In his response, the DM had clarified that there were many important tasks in the district, including the Prime Minister’s visit, and the Naib Tehsildar concerned was not performing election duty. As a result, Naib Tehsildar Rajendra Singh Rawat had to be transferred from Rishikesh to Dehradun.
The State Election Commission however clarified in a letter to the District Magistrate that, during the election process, while the Model Code of Conduct is in force, transfers and new appointments of officers and employees working in various departments in the constituency cannot be done without prior approval of the State Election Commission and that this ban also applies to IAS, IPS, PCS, and PPS cadre officers related to law and order and elections.
The State Election Commission has further stated that determining the violation of the code of conduct is also within the jurisdiction of the Commission.
The Commission however admitted that instructions had been given to stop the transfer of Naib Tehsildar Rajendra Singh Rawat with immediate effect, and that these instructions were also complied with. However, information about this was not provided to the Commission. This matter falls under the violation of the Model Code of Conduct, and instructions have been given to avoid repeating such incidents in the future.
