Kohima, June 29 (MExN): The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) repudiated the State’s Chief Electoral Officer (Officiating) clarification that there is “no question of any partiality or any kind of dereliction of duty on the part of the election department in giving copies of Form 10 to the candidates/election agents.”
No diversion of the issue is going to “undo their misdeed as the sequence of the correspondence between the NPCC and the office of the CEO Nagaland,” NPCC noted in counter rejoinder to the CEO (Officiating)’s clarification on the issue during a press conference in Kohima on June 28.
“It will speak on what related issue the impartial ‘Enquiry Committee’ has been demanded,” added the rejoinder issued by NPCC Working President, Khriedi Theunuo.
“The NPCC upholds the assurance given by the Governor, Nagaland, to take strict action on erring officials of the Department.”
Backing up its allegation, the NPCC said that it wrote to Chief Election Commissioner of India on 5.4.2019 to “clarify whether the expenditures incurred for printing of polling agent forms by the INC candidate attracts the provisions of Election Law for candidate's expenditures in the ensuing 2019 election to the House of People from the Nagaland Parliamentary Constituency.”
In the aforesaid election, due to the shortage of polling agent forms in the office of Returning Officer, Nagaland, the Indian National Congress (INC) candidate from Nagaland was made to “print the polling agent forms from private printing press at his own expense and meet the requirements of the Election Commission of India,” the NPCC reportedly added in its letter.
The issue was also brought to the notice of the Chief Election Officer (CEO), Nagaland and Returning Officer, Nagaland in the "CEOs checklist for meeting with Political Parties" on March 14, at Hotel Japfu, Kohima, it noted.
The office of the CEO, Nagaland, according to NPCC, had given reply to the NPCC letter on 5.4.2019 stating that "I am directed to clarify that this office issued 3500 Nos plus of polling agent Forms to party candidate agent on 26.03.2019. Further, I am to clarify that the expenditure incurred by the candidate or political party on printing of Forms for appointment of polling agent, if any, shall be included in the account of election expenditure."
“That as per the receipt, the Indian National Congress (INC) candidate received 3500 Nos of Polling Agent Forms and not 4901 as stated by the present CEO (Officiating) Nagaland,” it further maintained.
