The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday issued a stern directive to its field officers, asking them to take prompt action, including immediate lodging of FIR against those making inflammatory and provocative speeches in violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
The poll panel issued fresh instructions to district election officers (DEO) and superintendent of police (SP) to remind them of their “duty”, expressing displeasure over “lack of prompt intervention” by authorities concerned in “some cases” of hate speech. “The commission has taken serious note of such instances,” the poll panel noted in its guidelines to field officials.
The EC made it mandatory for all DEOs and SPs to submit a “daily report” to the chief electoral officer of their state, indicating whether any provocative/inflammatory speech, major violations of the Model Code of Conduct or law and order took place in their respective jurisdictions.
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