EC asks for strict vigil along India-China border amid Ladakh stand-off, war of words over Arunachal Pradesh

Chief Election Commissioner and the two other Election Commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had a meeting with the top bureaucrats and the police chiefs of all the states and union territories and reviewed the preparations for the parliamentary and the state assembly elections.

New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday asked for strict vigil along the India-China boundary during the parliamentary polls as well as the assembly polls in four states, including two – Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh – bordering the neighbouring communist country.

The EC asked the Indo-Tibetan Border Police to maintain strict vigil along the India-China border, with the Indian Army and the communist country’s People’s Liberation Army still engaged in a military stand-off that had started along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020.

Beijing also reasserted its claims on poll-bound Arunachal Pradesh, repeatedly stating over the past few weeks that India’s northeastern state was a part of south Tibet of China. New Delhi strongly dismissed Beijing’s claim, asserting that Arunachal Pradesh had been and would always remain an integral part of India.

The EC on Wednesday also asked for enhanced surveillance along the India-Myanmar border by the Assam Rifles, the India-Nepal border by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) as well as the India-Bangladesh border, and the Line of Control and the undisputed stretch of the border between India and Pakistan by the Border Security Force (BSF).

The polling for the election of the 543 members of the Lok Sabha will take place in seven phases between April 19 and June 1 – along with the voting for the state assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and the two other Election Commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had a meeting with the top bureaucrats and the police chiefs of all the states and union territories and reviewed the preparations for the parliamentary and the state assembly elections.

The heads of the central forces involved in guarding borders, like the BSF, Assam Rifles, SSB, ITBP, and the Indian Coast Guard, along with the chief of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the nodal officer of the central armed police force, additional secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs as well as the representatives from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Railways attended the review meeting.

The EC asked the Assam Rifles to hold regular joint security coordination meetings with state police and the central armed police forces in the states where it was deployed to guard the country’s border with Myanmar.

The SSB was asked to keep strict watch over international borders with Nepal and Bangladesh for any illicit activity, especially during 72 hours before the polling.

The Indian Coast Guard has been asked to step up surveillance along the coasts. The commission asked for area familiarization for newly inducted central armed police force companies in the states in coordination with civil administration. It also asked the central armed police forces deployed for the polls to establish joint check-posts in coordination with the state police.

The EC reviewed support from the Indian Air Force and the state civil aviation department for sorties to ferry polling teams in challenging regions of the 11 states, including Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra.

The commission asked for adequate security measures to safeguard political functionaries and candidates, based on threat perception, particularly in the states and the union territories, like Chhattisgarh and Jammu and Kashmir.

The recent violence and turmoil in Manipur and the ramifications for the conduct of peaceful elections were also discussed during the meeting, with the commission urging swift action to assist the internally displaced persons and ensure their participation in the electoral process.

Kumar underscored the EC’s commitment to ensuring free, fair, peaceful, and inducement-free elections, and called upon all stakeholders to work together seamlessly to uphold the integrity of the electoral process and ensure a level playing field.

He directed the local authorities in the states and the union territories to ensure that every voter can exercise their right to vote without fear or intimidation.