The Election Commission (EC) has ordered immediate
release of leaders and workers of political parties, including YSR
Congress Party, arrested by the police under the Preventive Detention
Act.
Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal told
reporters here on Monday that he had issued the orders to that effect to
Collectors who are district election officers, to ensure that all those
taken into custody in the 12 districts where by-elections were being
held to be set free forthwith.
The EC had taken this
step, as indiscriminate arrests of leaders and workers of a political
party although they did not commit criminal offences, would curtail
campaigning. This would be violative of the code of conduct and would be
potential enough to affect the free and fair elections.
The
action by the EC is expected to give some relief to the YSRCP, hundreds
of whose workers were arrested on Saturday-Sunday along with leaders at
different places. On intervention by local election authorities in East
Godavari district, P. Subhash Chandra Bose, YSRCP candidate in
Ramachandrapuram Assembly constituency, was released. Sources said the
CEO had issued the orders after consulting the Election Commission
instead of addressing a letter to Chief Secretary Pankaj Dwivedi as he
had originally planned.
Mr. Bhanwar Lal said the
situation in the 12 districts was peaceful with no untoward incident
being reported from these areas. He said those organising bandh should
not, in any way, obstruct campaigning by a candidate. The YSRCP was
greatly relieved on another count, as returning officers in all the
constituencies allotted “Ceiling Fan” symbol to all its candidates, as
per the present rules which stipulated that the preference of sitting
members must be respected while making symbol allotments out of EC's
list of free symbols.
Meanwhile, 242 candidates remained in fray in the 18 Assembly constituencies after 25 candidates withdrew nominations on Monday, the last date for withdrawals.
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