The Hindu : Front Page : Vacancies to 10 Lok Sabha seats will be filled within six months: Gopalaswami

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 17, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Vacancies to 10 Lok Sabha seats will be filled within six months: Gopalaswami

J. Venkatesan

Consequent to the Supreme Court verdict in the cash-for-query case

— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

TALKING ELECTIONS: Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami (right) with Election Commissioners Navin B. Chawla {lcub}left) and Deputy Election Commissioner Rajshree Bhattacharya at a meeting with poll observers in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission will hold elections to fill the Lok Sabha seats vacated due to expulsion of the 10 Members of Parliament in the cash-for-query scam within six months from the date of the Supreme Court judgment.

Talking to reporters after presiding over a meeting of poll observers, the Chief Election Commissioner, N. Gopalaswami said that the six-month period would operate only from January 10, the date of the Supreme Court judgment and not from the notification of the vacancies in December 2005 since the apex court had stayed the holding of by-elections.

Two Election Commissioners, Navin Chawla and S.Y. Quaireshi, also attended the observers meet.

The CEC said that for three Lok Sabha vacancies in Uttar Pradesh, by-elections would be held along with the Assembly polls. For the remaining vacancies, he said, "we will take a decision soon."

In Uttar Pradesh, he said, a new Assembly had to be constituted by May 14. "You can do your calculations," he said when he was asked whether the poll schedule for Uttar Pradesh would be announced before the completion of Assembly poll process in Manipur, Punjab and Uttarakhand. He said the names of a total of 50 lakh voters had been deleted including the names of about 23 lakh dead voters.

Mr. Gopalaswami said poll observers for Punjab and Uttarakhand had been specifically asked to tour their respective constituencies extensively and build confidence among the weaker and disadvantaged sections.

He said the 247 observers would constantly review execution of non-bailable warrants, recovery of illicit arms and collection of licensed arms from undesirable elements.

The observers would monitor strictly the enforcement of Model Code of Conduct. During these polls, Central Government employees would be engaged for poll duty to the extent possible, he said.

He said that security arrangements had been tied up with the Home Ministry, and forces for the Assembly polls in Manipur had started moving. For Punjab, security forces would be sent by the end of this month. He said nearly 3.75 lakh names of dead voters had been removed from the electoral rolls in Punjab.

He said during the forthcoming polls, not more than three vehicles would be allowed to come within 100 metres of the Returning Officer's office at the time of nomination. To curb the tendency of overcrowding, the Commission, he said had directed that at the time of nominations only candidates, their proposers and four others would be allowed to enter the RO's office.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page