A consultation meeting with representatives of Election Commission-recognised political parties was held at the Secretariat in Chennai on Sunday, chaired by Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik, in connection with the Assembly elections.
After the meeting, DMK representative R.S. Bharathi said there were reports that the Election Commission had ordered the covering of leaders’ statues during the election period. Referring to visuals of an MGR statue being covered, he said the Commission should act in line with the High Court’s view that there is no need to cover statues of deceased leaders.
AIADMK representatives Jayakumar and Inbathurai alleged that officials favourable to the ruling party were being included in flying squads and that raid-related information was being shared in advance with ruling party members. They demanded that central government officials be deployed for such duties and that officers serving in the same place for more than three years be transferred.
Congress leader Thangabalu said candidates have multiple responsibilities, including campaigning and meeting party workers, and sought implementation of an instruction allowing candidates’ agents to report accounts by meeting officials once every two days. BJP representative Karate Thyagarajan raised concerns over reports that a politically linked firm had been appointed for video recording of flying squad monitoring, warning it could create scope for irregularities.
