Plea to shift LIT employees with stay of over three years

Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 19

A former municipal councillor has asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Punjab, to shift officials of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) with stay of three to five years or more in wake of the model code of conduct enforced for the coming Lok Sabha elections.

In a representation to the ECI with copies to the CEO, Punjab, and Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer, former councillor Pran Bhatia has drawn their attention towards some employees/officials of the LIT, who had remained posted here for more than 10 years. They managed to stay in the city even after their promotions, added Bhatia.

“Many such employees have been deployed for the election duty in gross violation of the model code of conduct,” said Bhatia.

Such a long period of stay at a particular station and deployment of these employees on the election duty was against the service rules, which provide that no employee would be allowed to remain on a particular seat for more than three years and at a particular station for not more than five years, he added.

“Such long serving employees/officials – some of them remaining at their home town even after the imposition of model code of conduct and deployment on election duty – could work to influence voters for the benefit of the ruling party,” the representation added.

Bhatia demanded that all such employees and officials of the LIT serving at their home town (Ludhiana) or those having served for more than three to five years in the city be immediately shifted elsewhere to ensure a free and fair election.