New Delhi: Taking forward its commitment for a level playing field in the Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued transfer orders for non-cadre officers who are posted at leadership positions as District Magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police (SP) in four states – Odisha, Gujarat, Punjab, and West Bengal.
The post of DM and SP in the district are encadred for officers from Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service respectively.
The Commission said that this action is a demonstration of the Commission’s dedication and promise to uphold fairness and preserve the integrity of the electoral process, a sentiment repeatedly emphasized by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, news agency ANI reported.
The decision was taken after the commission convened a meeting chaired by CEC Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
In Odisha, the officers to be transferred are: – District Magistrate of Dhenkanal and SPs of Deogarh and Cuttack Rural districts.
Gujarat – SP of Chhota Udaipur and Ahmedabad Rural districts
Punjab – SSP of Pathankot, Fazilka, Jalandhar Rural and Malerkotla districts
West Bengal – DM of Purba Medinipur, Jhargram, Purba Bardhaman and Birbhum districts
y, the poll body has also directed for the transfer of SSP Bathinda in Punjab and SP Sonitpur in Assam in view of their “kinship or familial association with the elected political representatives”.
The officials in these two districts have been transferred as pre-emptive measures to dispel any apprehensions of administration being biased or perceived to be compromised.
Under the directive, all respective state governments have been instructed to promptly transfer non-encadred officers from their current roles as DM and SP/SSP, with immediate effect, and submit a compliance report to the Commission.
