LS polls: Seizure worth Rs 4,650 crore made; 45% of them drugs
New Delhi (PTI): The Election Commission on Monday said authorities under its supervision have made seizure worth Rs 4,650 crore, including drugs worth Rs 2069 crore, in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections.
The poll panel said the seizures made since March 1 exceed the over Rs 3,475 crore recovered during the 2019 parliamentary polls.
The seven phased Lok Sabha polls were announced on March 16. The first phase is on April 19 and the last one on June 1.
The Commission said authorities have been making seizures worth Rs 100 crore every day since March 1.
Out of the total recoveries worth Rs 4,658 crore, the cash component stands at over Rs 395 crore, while liquor stands at more than Rs 489 crore.
Significantly, 45 per cent of the seizures are of drugs (Rs 2,069 crore).
Use of black money, over and above political financing, could disturb the level playing field in favour of more resourceful party or candidate, it noted, adding that the seizures are a critical part of its resolve to hold the Lok Sabha elections free of inducements and electoral malpractices and to ensure a level playing field.
Drug seizures accounted for approximately 75 per cent of the total seizures in January and February this year with the poll panel focussing on the menace much before the poll schedule was announced.
Over the past few years, significant seizures have been made during elections to state assemblies in Gujarat, Punjab, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, and Mizoram.
CEC Rajiv Kumar, while announcing the polls last month, had underlined money power as one of the '4M' challenges, the poll authority recalled.
The poll panel pointed out that it has been taking action to ensure level playing field such as checking vehicles of prominent leaders and even removing officials for laxity in carrying out their mandate.
The Commission, it said, has also taken strict action against nearly 106 government servants who were found assisting politicians in campaigning, which is against various rules and ethics.
EC sources also pointed out that there was "nothing new" in search of helicopters, as was done in case of TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee.
In the run-up to the polls, all district magistrates and superintendents of police were told to keep a strict watch on airfields and helipads. Such searches are taking place in airfields, both public and private, across the country to ensure inducements are not ferried by air, the said.
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Karnataka issues order on internal quota within SC reservation; 56,432 recruitments to proceed
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Tuesday issued an order implementing internal reservation within the 15 per cent quota earmarked for Scheduled Castes in appointments and admissions.
As per the order, 5.25 per cent reservation has been allocated to Left-hand communities under Category-A, 5.25 per cent to Right-hand communities under Category-B, and 4.50 per cent to other touchable Scheduled Caste communities under Category-C.
The government said the decision follows the recent Cabinet meeting held in view of the interim order of the High Court. It was decided to temporarily adopt the 50 per cent overall reservation ceiling and continue recruitments subject to the final verdict of the court.
Accordingly, the 15 per cent SC reservation in recruitment and admissions will now be distributed among the three categories in the prescribed ratio.
The order further stated that 20 per cent of posts or seats available under Category-C must be reserved for 59 most backward castes within the Scheduled Castes. If eligible candidates from these 59 castes are not available, the vacancies or seats should be filled by candidates from other communities within Category-C.
For implementing the revised quota in recruitment, authorities have been directed to follow a 400-point roster system. Where fewer than three Scheduled Caste roster points are available in any cadre, the reserved posts should be treated as general SC category posts for appointment purposes.
The government has also directed departments to revise ongoing recruitment processes by incorporating internal reservation. Notifications already issued without such quota distribution are to be withdrawn and fresh revised notifications issued immediately.
The order added that if the court upholds the enhanced 24 per cent reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the additional 6 per cent posts should be treated as backlog vacancies and filled accordingly.
The government has instructed all recruiting authorities to take urgent steps to fill 56,432 posts already cleared by the Finance Department through direct recruitment.
