Jammu- Jammu and Kashmir authorities on Wednesday set up command and control centres in Jammu and Srinagar to check violations of the Model Code of Conduct in force for the upcoming assembly elections, officials said.
The centres have been established at the offices of chief electoral officer at the twin capital cities to curb the spread of misinformation and uphold the integrity of the electoral process, an official statement said.
Round-the-clock control rooms have also been made functional in all 20 deputy commissioners’ offices.
The model code of conduct came into force in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday with the announcement of the schedule for the assembly elections in the Union Territory.
Assembly polls will be held in three phases — September 18, September 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will be held on October 4.
Equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, the command and control centres would keep a close vigil on all poll-related activities, ensuring prompt action, including against any suspected case of fake news, said the statement from the office of the chief electoral officer.
“In addition to electronic channels, the Command and Control Centre is also keeping a strict vigil on social media channels and media portals and accounts vis à vis media monitoring on such elements who may attempt to build any such narrative which can prove detrimental to the peace and tranquillity in the society, violate ECI norms of MCC applicable to all stakeholders,” it said.
Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole has appealed to all citizens and political parties to adhere to the guidelines issued by the poll panel in order to maintain the sanctity of the democratic process in the Union Territory.
Over 28K Defacements Removed Within 72 Hrs
The J&K Election Department has removed more than 28 thousand defacements across Jammu and Kashmir within 72 hours after the announcement of J&K Assembly Election 2024.
With the announcement of the Assembly Election in Jammu and Kashmir on 16 August 2024 by Election Commission of India (ECI), the Commission had issued directions for the effective enforcement of provisions of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in J&K Union Territory.
Taking the ECI directives regarding the implementation of MCC after the announcement elections into the consideration, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Jammu & Kashmir, P K Pole directed the enforcement wing of the department to remove all the wall-writing, posters, banners or defacement in any other form on the Government properties and others in no time.
Acting swiftly, the enforcement wing removed as many as 28,636 defacements across the Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory within 72 hours from the announcement of election, a statement from the office of CEO said.
As many as 1837 wall-writing, 9276 posters, 5661 banners and 11,862 other defacements from Government, Public and private properties were removed by Flying Squads and MCC teams in a mission mode in last 72 hours across the 20 districts of the Union Territory.
The action was aimed at ensuring that no political advertisement at the cost of public exchequer be displayed prominently in Government, public and private properties during the MCC restricted period.
The J&K election department is committed to work in tandem with all stakeholders to ensure level-playing field for all contestants during the MCC-restricted period, the CEO said
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