AMN
India’s Chief Election Commissioner Dr Nasim Zaidi has said that bribing voters should be made a cognisable offence. Dr Zaidi said, money power is a issue of concern and the commission is making its strategy more robust to tackle the problem.
He said, a surveillance system is in place to keep an eye on distribution of money, gifts and liquor. He was speaking to media on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi.
Dr. Zaidi said that preparations for the upcoming assembly polls in five states are going on smoothly and the commission is emphasising on enrolling more and more eligible citizens.
He said, the commission has already visited Uttar Pradesh and Manipur and it will visit Punjab and Uttarakhand in the next 2-3 weeks and after that Goa. The CEC said, they have not given any thought to the scheduling of the polls and the commission is collecting inputs from states, law and order machinery and security forces.
On the question of holding Parliamentary and Assembly polls together, the CEC said, the election commission has already given it’s response to Parliamentary Panel and Law Ministry and said that it is possible if all political parties agree on it and make necessary amendments to the constitution.