A detailed inquiry has been ordered into an incident where copies of an Election Commission of India (EC) letter bearing the seal of the State unit of the BJP was distributed to political parties.
Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala) Rathan U. Kelkar said here on Tuesday that the Additional CEO handling issues related to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and media P.B. Nooh was handling the inquiry. The report was expected to be filed within 48 hours, based on which appropriate action would be taken, he said.
On Monday, the CEO’s office had placed an official at the office on suspension pending an investigation. “In connection with this incident what we have to say is that an error has occurred. We consider it a serious lapse,” he said, adding that his office had taken corrective measures promptly and informed all concerned, including the political parties.
Mr. Kelkar’s office on Monday stated that an inadvertent error had occurred after a photocopy of an EC letter provided by the BJP Kerala unit along with an application seeking clarification on the 2019 guidelines regarding the publication of criminal antecedents of candidates was redistributed to political parties.
Meanwhile, the cyber operations wing of the Kerala Police launched takedown measures of the content from various online accounts citing the need to “uphold the principles of free and fair elections.”
