ITANAGAR, April 11 � With preparations for ensuing Municipality and Panchayati Raj elections going on in Arunachal Pradesh, the State Election Commissioner KD Singh today called upon the officials concerned to put in place �defect-free� electoral rolls for the civic and PR polls.
Arunachal Pradesh, for the first time ever, is going to hold the municipality polls in the State capital, Itanagar, and Pasighat on May 16 next along with the elections to the three-tier Panchayati Raj institutions.
Addressing a meeting of DCs and SPs of districts here, the State Election Commissioner (SEC) asked all officials to �freely and fearlessly� perform their election duties.
�Since election is a zero-tolerance exercise�, said the SEC, �It�s my ardent appeal to my fellow officers DCs cum District Election Officers to see to it that defect-free electoral rolls are in place for the forthcoming elections to PR and Civic bodies.�
He said, �The task of preparing E-roll is the job of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and under no circumstances, they should succumb to any threat, intimidation.�
He further said that in case of false information being furnished by electors to get one�s name included in E-rolls, it may lead to one-year imprisonment or a fine of Rs 5,000 or both.
�Our officers should perform their election duties freely and fearlessly, and we are not to play any partisan role but to act in a transparent manner as there is nothing to hide in the electoral democracy.
In election matters, don�t listen to anyone except for rule books to avoid bogus registration of voters so as to evade any problem in future,� he said.
The SEC also made it clear that in case of PR polls, only the indigenous voters can exercise their democratic franchise, and the Municipality election is just like Assembly and Parliamentary polls where everybody can vote.
Director of Panchayati Raj, Bidol Tayeng divulged that seven out of 16 Zilla Parishad seats in the State were reserved for women.
Singh also said that the State Govt has been cooperative and assured of a fool-proof security arrangement for a free, fair and peaceful conduct of civic and PR polls.