Act against those giving oral instructions: RTI forum to EC

A Lucknow based civil society organisation, National RTI forum, has asked the Election Commission to disclose the names of all those senior officers in the State Secretariat of Uttar Pradesh who are issuing oral or telephonic instructions to officers posted in the state or districts for election related duties.

The Election Commission has instructed that no verbal orders be given during the elections as this was a violation of the model code of conduct.

It had sent a letter to the UP Government saying that a few senior officers of UP Secretariat were issuing improper oral instructions which should not be followed.

On January 26, the commission had ordered UP Chief Secretary Anoop Mishra to ensure that officers in the Secretariat do not issue “oral and telephonic instructions” to officers posted at the district level for election management as this may “jeopardize the election process” and also create confusion in “field machinery” during the elections.

The forum has demanded that an inquiry be conducted into the deeds of all such officers who have been trying to improperly influence election related work. The Ministry of Personnel and Training and the UP Government have also been asked to take disciplinary action against the erring officers.