Office of the Election Commission of India.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: Over 800 flying squads crisscrossing Bihar will attend to complaints of violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) put in place for the Assembly elections within 100 minutes, the Election Commission said on Wednesday.
The MCC came into effect in Bihar on Monday evening after the EC announced the poll schedule. It is also applicable to the union government so far as announcements or policy decisions for Bihar are concerned.
The EC has operationalised a round-the-clock complaint monitoring system, including a Call Centre number 1950 in which complaints can be lodged by any person or party, with District Electoral Officers or Returning Officers.
Citizens and parties can also report MCC violations using the C-Vigil App on the ECINET, it said adding, “824 flying squads have been deployed across the state to ensure that the complaints are attended to within 100 minutes.”
The EC also asked officials to ensure that privacy of citizens is respected by not allowing demonstrations or picketing outside private residences. Land, buildings or walls should not be used for flags, banners or posters without the owner’s consent, it said.
With MCC in place, the EC said ministers shall not combine official duties with electioneering or use government machinery, transport, or personnel for campaign purposes. It has also banned the transfer of officers connected with the conduct of elections.
Officials have been instructed to ensure that public places such as grounds and helipads are equally available to all parties on the same terms. The SUVIDHA module has been activated on ECINET where parties can apply for usage of public places, which should be allocated on a first- come-first-served basis.
While parties are required to inform police in advance of meetings and processions and obtain necessary permissions for loudspeakers or other facilities, it asked officials to act impartially in enforcing MCC, ensuring equal treatment of all parties and preventing misuse of official facilities.
The EC also directed officials to ensure strict compliance with the instructions related to removal of defacement from government, public and private property, misuse of official vehicles or government accommodation by any party, candidate or any other person connected with election and ban on issuance of advertisement at the cost of public exchequer.