Hyderabad: TPCC senior vice-president G. Niranjan said that in a bid to show effective implementation of the model code of conduct, officials were checking vehicles and seizing cash and gold that were not connected with the November 30 Assembly elections.
He cited a report by Deccan Chronicle to back his argument —“80% money returned in ’18; 20% after fine” that was published on October 20.
Niranjan, chairman of the TPCC Election Commission coordination committee, wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar: “The gap between announcement of the election schedule and polling day is about 51 days and the life of common citizens has become miserable due to the unwanted vehicle checking. While the intention of the EC is to curb the flow of money to influence the voters not to put the common man to hardships by creating hindrance to their day-to-day personal and business activities.”
He attached a copy of a report from Deccan Chronicle which stated that 90 per cent of the amount seized in 2018 was returned to genuine owners after the elections.
“Such seizures will force genuine people to wait for 50 days to get their money back. We request the EC to direct the officers concerned to first ascertain whether the cash is intended for elections or not before seizing it and to put an end to vows of the common man,” the letter said.
