Traders, including jewellers, who are facing difficulties because of the rampant seizures of cash, gold and other precious metals will heave a sigh of relief as the Election Commission of India has directed the State election officials to “go lenient if the case is genuine”.
The ECI, at the same time, inquired with them about the cases relating to seizure under Section 102 of the Cr.P.C. In another major decision, the Election Commission has directed Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj and his team to add the cost of the freebies in the accounts of the candidates concerned once their nominations are approved.
Senior Deputy Election Commissioners Dharmendra Sharma and Nitesh Kumar Vyas accompanied by senior officials from the ECI gave these directions to the State authorities. The ECI team flew from New Delhi before issuing notification to ascertain the poll preparedness and foolproof arrangements for conducting free and fair elections in the State scheduled for November 30.
