Agartala: Appointment of micro observers for the February 14 Tripura Assembly election has put the state election authority into trouble.
While the Election Commission has been working hard to manage adequate number of micro observers, central government employees have raised objections to the appointment of these observers without considering their job status.
State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ashutosh Jindal has said with the increase in number of voters and polling booths, requirement of micro observers too had risen this time to more than 2,000 and according to the EC guidelines, the state had issued appointment to micro observers.
However, as and when the exclusion had been sought on genuine ground, the authority exempted them from duty, Jindal said adding “We have no intention to humiliate any individual. Rather we are seeking cooperation from all concerned to conduct a free and fair election on February 14.”
Initially, the Election Commission had concentrated on the appointment of polling staff and security personnel besides, preparation of electoral roll and polling booths. But when the issue of micro observers came, it added to the department’s woes.
According to a report, District Election Officers had appointed micro observers from different institutions but a few organisations like Tripura (Central) University, National Institute of Technology (NIT), state-owned ONGC and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) had objected to the appointment of observers without considering the job status.
“Registrar, controller of examination, including senior professors, were appointed as micro observers along with lower grade office staff. It counts 220 from the university and they had to report to the District Magistrate, which is unusual this time and put us in trouble,” said Prof A Saha, Vice-Chancellor of Tripura (Central) University.
He, however, pointed out that election was considered as the greatest democratic task in the constitutional mandate but reporting to a District Magistrate or an IAS officer who had been working as an observer was degradation for a professor. Moreover, discharging the same duty as a micro observer with his sub-ordinate was nothing but humiliation.
Similarly, appointment of general manager rank officers of ONGC, principal scientists of ICAR and professors and registrars of NIT as micro observers had also triggered resentment among officials and they had brought the matter to the notice of CEO. (UNI)