EC reactivates its economic intelligence panel after six-year gap
New Delhi (PTI): The Election Commission has reactivated its economic intelligence panel after a gap of six years to curb the use of money, liquor and drugs to influence voters ahead of the Bihar polls.
The Multi-Departmental Committee on Election Intelligence (MDCEI) met here on Friday for the first time since 2019 to fine-tune the strategy of enforcement agencies and central police forces to prevent the use of money power and freebies to sway voters in poll-bound Bihar.
The committee was formed in 2014 ahead of that year's general elections.
Officials said the committee met ahead of polls between 2014 and 2019, but did not do so formally thereafter. Agency and security forces' heads had been meeting to strategise steps to check money power. On Friday, they met on a bigger scale.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners S S Sandhu and Vivek Joshi were present at the meeting.
The committee includes 17 departments -- Central Board of Direct Taxes, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Enforcement Directorate, Department of Revenue Intelligence, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Financial Intelligence Unit – India, Reserve Bank of India, Indian Banks' Association, Narcotics Control Bureau, Railway Protection Force, Cental Industrial Security Force, Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Airports Authority of India and the Department of Posts.
The meeting was held to prepare a comprehensive roadmap to combat the pernicious effects of cash and other inducements in elections.
The different agencies briefed the commission about their preparation, steps taken, and proposed steps to be taken for ensuring inducement-free elections. The briefings were on a wide range of topics pertaining to curbing the use of money and other inducements to vitiate elections, the EC said.
The commission officials instructed that there should be cooperation and sharing of intelligence on economic offences amongst law enforcement agencies for effective action.
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Veteran Congress leader Shamanuru Shivashankarappa laid to rest with full state honours
Bengaluru (PTI): Veteran Congress leader Shamanuru Shivashankarappa was laid to rest with full state honours on Monday.
The 94-year-old former minister, who passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday, was cremated at the Kalleshwara Mill premises, following Veerashaiva-Lingayat traditions.
Earlier in the day, Shivashankarappa's mortal remains were brought to his native Davanagere, where they were kept at the high school grounds for the public, his followers, and well-wishers to pay their last respects.
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Expressing deep sorrow over his demise, the Karnataka government ordered that his last rites be performed with full state honours.
Both the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and Council also mourned his passing, adjourning their sessions for the day after paying tributes.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, several ministers, opposition leaders, legislators, and political figures paid their respects.
A number of seers from the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community also attended the last rites.
Shivashankarappa represented the Davanagere South Assembly constituency. He had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for some time before succumbing to age-related ailments.
The senior-most legislator in Karnataka, Shivashankarappa, was also one of the longest-serving lawmakers in the country, sources said.
He is survived by three sons, including S S Mallikarjun, the Karnataka Minister for Mines, Geology, and Horticulture, and four daughters. His daughter-in-law, Prabha Mallikarjun, is the Member of Parliament from Davanagere.
A six-time MLA, Shivashankarappa also served as a minister and an MP.
He was a prominent educationist, establishing several educational institutions, and was an industrialist.
Additionally, he served as the treasurer of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) for decades and was the president of the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of the influential Veerashaiva-Lingayat community.
