GUWAHATI: With the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in force in the country, the Election Commission has tightened its grip over illegal money transactions during the upcoming elections.
During the election period, the maximum amount of cash that can be carried by an individual will be Rs 50,000. To carry any amount beyond this, necessary documents, including legal source and end use, besides business, will be required.
If a person carries cash more than Rs 10 lakhs, they will have to inform the income tax department about the same. If someone is found with monetary amount exceeding Rs 10 lakhs without prior information, the income tax department will be informed by the election commission and only after providing necessary proofs, the sum will be released.
The much awaited 2019 Lok Sabha election schedule was announced by the Election Commission of India at New Delhi on March 10. Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, while announcing the dates, said that the MCC has come into effect in the entire country and any violation will be dealt with in the strictest manner.
In Assam, the Lok Sabha polls will be held in three phases - Phase 1 (Tezpur, Kaliabor, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur will go to polls on 11th April), Phase 2 (Karimganj, Silchar, Autonomous District, Mangaldoi, Nowgong on 18th April) and Phase 3 (Gauhati, Barpeta, Dhubri, Kokrajhar on 23rd April).
Posters and hoardings to be taken down ahead of LS polls
With the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) having come into effect ahead of Lok Sabha elections, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Assam, Mukesh Sahu, has ordered for the removal of all government hoardings, advertisements, wall advertisements, wall writings and posters in the state.
“Removal of the hoardings and advertisements began in the state immediately after the announcement of the date of the polls on Sunday,” Sahu stated.
In a meeting held on Monday between the Kamrup (Metro) District Administration with top officials of the district administration, the police and other agencies including the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and Directorate of Information & Public Relations (DIPR) discussed ways and means to ensure no violation of the MCC takes place in Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency.
The district administration also met with representatives from all the political parties to apprise them of the MCC and urged them to follow the guidelines.
Reportedly, on Monday, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), in a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam, requested the issue of orders for the removal of existing government hoardings/government advertisements for conducting a free and fair election.
Election Commission launches ‘cVIGIL’ app to report MCC violations
The Election Commission of India has launched an app named cVIGIL to fast-track the complaint reception and redressal system for citizens.
‘cVIGIL’, short for Vigilant Citizen, emphasizes on the proactive and responsible role citizens can play in the conduct of free and fair elections. It is an innovative mobile application for the citizens of the country to report Model Code of Conduct and expenditure violations during the elections.
The user-friendly and easy to operate the application is currently only available on Android devices. It can be used for reporting violations from the date of notifications for by-election, assembly and parliamentary elections.
It is unique in the sense that it allows only live photo/video with auto location capture from within the app to ensure digital evidence for flying squads to act upon in a time-bound manner. The app connects citizens with the District Control Room, Returning Officer and Field Unit (Flying Squads)/ Static Surveillance Teams and thus creating a rapid and accurate reporting, action and monitoring system.
To report an incident, one just has to click a picture or record a 2-minute video of the activity violating the MCC and describe it briefly before registering the complaint. GPS information captured with the complaint automatically flags it to the concerned District Control Room, permitting flying squads to be routed to the spot within 100 minutes.
The user also has the option of registering complaints anonymously through cVIGIL App. In that case, the mobile number and other profile details are not sent to the system.
The cVIGIL app also has inbuilt features to prevent its misuse. The app will be usable only within the geographical boundary of states where elections are being held. The user will get 5 minutes to report an incident after having clicked a picture or video. One of the main features is that the app will not allow uploading of pre-recorded images/videos and will also not allow users to save said photos and videos in the phone gallery directly.
Additionally, the app will also force time delay of 5 minutes between successive complaints by the same person and to repetitive complaints from the same spot.
Toll-free numbers for voter helpline launched
Ahead of the Lok Sabha Election 2019, a toll-free helpline number (Helpline No 1950) for voter information, feedback and complaints has been launched by the Election Commission of India, informed Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (Metro), Biswajit Pegu.
Pointing out that the helpline is a toll-free number Pegu said the voters can come up with suggestions, complaints on poll-code violation, voter list enrolment and such other voter issues.
The helpline has been set up for the benefit of voters and the voters can call this helpline round-the-clock for any information they want on the electoral process.
While people from all districts can call on 1950, citizens in the Kamrup (M) district can also call on the toll-free number 1800-354-3520.
Pegu also informed that over 5,600 officials will be involved in carrying out the electoral process in Kamrup (Metro), besides the involvement of security forces.