The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued a statement on Sunday to warn voters about \u201cillicit money\u201d for influencing them.<\/p>\n
Calling it one of the \u201cbiggest challenges for the conduct of free, fair, ethical and credible elections\u201d, the EC has noted that the \u201cuse of money power with the intention of influencing voter behaviour\u201d is an illicit practice which needs to be curbed.<\/p>\n
Adding that all enforcement actions are adopted by bodies concerned like the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Revenue only once there is a \u201cvariety of inputs and actionable intelligence\u201d, the EC stated that measures should be implemented \u201cruthlessly\u201d to curb the malpractice.<\/p>\n
At the same time, it is important that the enforcement raids remain \u201cneutral, impartial and non-discriminatory\u201d, read the EC statement.<\/p>\n
A number of opposition parties like the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Congress, Communist Party of India Marxist (CPIM) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have been alleging that raids are being conducted by enforcement agencies against their top leaders to harass them at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre.<\/p>\n
The EC has mentioned that it should be kept in the loop and \u201ckept suitably informed\u201d each time there is a case of \u201csuspected use\u201d of \u201cillicit money\u201d for \u201celectoral purposes\u201d as the model code of conduct is now in vogue in the run-up to the elections.<\/p>\n
The first phase of polling in the country is scheduled on April 11. This time elections will be held in seven phases in the country, ending on May 19 and counting will take place on May 23.<\/p>\n
[Cover image representational]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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