TEZPUR, April 5 - The General Observer for 9-Tezpur HPC Dr Saroj Kumar inspected the commissioning process of EVMs and VVPAT machines under way at Darrang College in the presence of District Election Officer and Deputy Commissioner Narsing Pawar on Thursday.
The process of commissioning began on Wednesday amidst tight security and in the presence of representatives of various political parties and agents of the contesting candidates. The General Observer also inspected the strong room and took stock of the security arrangements and expressed satisfaction with the overall preparedness at the centre.
The Election Commission of India, it may be mentioned, has appointed Dr Saroj Kumar (RR-2008) as the General Observer for 9-Tezpur HPC. For any election-related complaints or grievances, the concerned public has been advised to meet him at the Tezpur Circuit House from 1 pm to 2 pm every day or contact him on 60026-23332 or 03712-223209 (Observer Cell) or on the following email ID � observercelltezpur2019 @gmail.com.
On the other hand, the second round of inspection of election-related expenditure submitted by candidates contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to the 9-Tezpur HPC was conducted on April 3 by Expenditure Observer Dr Santeswar Swami.
While the candidates from BJP and INC submitted records of their expenditure on time, the remaining five contesting candidates failed to attend the inspection held on Wednesday, following which notice have been issued to all of them.
The Returning Officer for 9-Tezpur parliamentary constituency issued notices to the five candidates, namely Mahendra Bhuyan (NCP), Mahendra Orang (VPI), Ram Bahadur Sonar (NPP), Ziabur Rahman Khan (Independent) and Bijoy Kumar Tiru (Independent) asking them to produce all registers, vouchers and other relevant documents for inspection by the Expenditure Observer by 5 pm today at the Tezpur Municipal Board building behind the DRDA office without fail. Failure to produce the accounts for inspection will lead to withdrawal of permission for public rally, approval of vehicles and campaigning.
Any future activity relating to campaigning beyond the aforementioned date and time will evoke action under Section 171-I of the IPC in the competent court.
It may be mentioned that these five candidates were served similar notices during the first round of inspection of election expenditure held on March 30 last.
