Chief secretary assures CEC of conducting free-and-fair polls in Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena assured Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday that the hill state will witness peaceful, fair and inducement-free Lok Sabha election and Assembly bypolls. Saxena gave the assurance while interacting with Kumar through a video-conference, according to a statement issued here.

The Election Commission (EC) held a meeting with the chief secretaries and directors general of police of all states and Union territories as well as the heads of central agencies to ensure peaceful and inducement-free Lok Sabha polls.

Kumar stressed for a level-playing field in the upcoming polls.

While briefing the CEC, Saxena said adequate security measures have been put in place to seal the entry points to the state and the porous inter-state border in order to prevent bogus voting and the entry of illegal liquor and drugs. He also said a strict vigil is being maintained to prevent distribution of freebies and the movement of cash and narcotics.

He said the overall law-and-order situation in the hill state is peaceful and a first round of meetings with the neighbouring states have taken place at the deputy commissioner level. Social media platforms are being monitored to identify fake news or hate speeches, Saxena said.

Director General of Police (DGP) Sanjay Kundu briefed the CEC about the law-and-order preparedness and foolproof security arrangements being made to ensure smooth and violence-free elections.

He said patrolling and checking in the inter-state border areas have been undertaken for area dominance. The field functionaries have been directed to keep a watch over suspicious activities of criminal elements and nab the proclaimed offenders.

The DGP said correspondence with other states has been made, with a request to arrest the proclaimed offenders. Awareness is being generated among people to share information related to suspicious or illegal activities in and around them.

Twenty-five meetings at the superintendent of police level, 17 meetings at the level of DSPs and one meeting at the IG (inspector general) level have been held with the neighbouring states to curb the illicit flow of narcotics, liquor and money.

Chief Electoral Officer Maneesh Garg said all arrangements have been made to ensure free, fair and inducement-free elections in Himachal Pradesh.

The meeting convened by the EC was held in a hybrid mode.

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