EC asks I-T to check cash flow through airports

HYDERABAD: The Election Commission of India has decided to initiate stringent action against parties or candidates offering inducements to voters.Speaking to reporters in his chambers at the Secretariat here on Thursday, chief electoral officer Bhanwarlal said the Election Commission asked the income tax department to keep vigil at the airports at Tirupati, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry and Visakhapatnam to check transport of illegal money and costly valuables to districts  going to polls.Directions have also been issued to the district election officers of 12 districts to keep vigil on bribe-givers and bribe-takers, and to register cases against them. Under Section 171 B of IPC, paying money or giving any article  or accepting either for himself or for any other person as reward for exercising electoral right is an offence of bribery and the person caught is punishable under Section 171 E of IPC.The CEO appealed to people as well as political parties not to carry huge cash in districts where byelections will take place on June 12. If any person is carrying huge amount of cash for any emergency purpose, he should carry supporting documents to show the source and end-use of such cash in order to avoid seizure at check-posts or by flying squads.Political parties should inform their candidates in advance to open separate bank accounts for election expenditure and communicate the account number in writing at the time of filing nominations. The DEOs should ask the bank managers to list out the electronic (RTGS) transfer of money to any bank account and any suspicious withdrawal of `1 lakh and above and such transactions should be submitted to the nodal officersDEOs who will have them fully verified.An amount of `7 crore and a quantity of 87,000 litres of liquor had been seized in the Nellore Lok Sabha and 18 Assembly constituencies so far, the CEO said.Marine and civil police personnel will be deployed in the coastal areas of the poll-going districts to curb illicit flow of liquor, money and articles. The vigil will be made tighter during the 48-hour period before polling, and the forces deployed at check-posts, mobile squads and MCC teams will not be withdrawn even on the polling day.A meeting with the representatives of national and state political parties would be held at 3 pm on May 16, Bhanwarlal said.