Dissatisfied with measures for polls amid covid surge: HC pulls up ECI

KOLKATA: The Calcutta high court on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction over measures taken by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to enforce Covid-19 safety norms in campaigning for the ongoing West Bengal assembly polls.

This comes at a time when the state is struggling with a record number of infections and the daily count of Covid-19 cases breaching the 10,000-mark, at least 50 times what it was on February 26, when the election dates were announced. “Issuance of circulars and holding of meetings by themselves do not discharge the onerous responsibility of ECI and officers under its command,” the court said. On April 13, the court had directed the state’s chief electoral officer and district magistrates to “strictly” implement the Covid-19 guidelines during political campaigns. But the HC was unhappy with the steps taken to enforce norms. “We are not satisfied with the materials on record to state that the ECI have enforced their circulars,” the court said.

The eight-phase assembly polls in West Bengal started on March 27 and the sixth round ended on Thursday. Experts have linked the exponential rise in cases to mask-less rallies where hundreds of people jostled with each other, in violation of distancing guidelines. “The ECI should wrap up the poll process at the earliest. The lengthier the election process the higher would be the toll,” said Manas Gumta, general secretary of Association of Health Service Doctors in the state.