An election official in Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituency, has written to the Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu accusing the Returning Officer/District Collector of displaying “favouritism” in the direction of DMK candidate A Raja.
Assistant Expenditure Observer P Saravanan, in his criticism letter, claimed that Returning Officer M Aruna was “harassing him” and personally wanting into every expenditure of A Raja.
He alleged that Aruna was attempting to manage the accounting procedures in favour of A Raja and that he was dealing with hassle for “not supporting” the RO’s “favouritism” in the direction of the DMK candidate.
“The expenditures booked in the Shadow Observation Register of our team differ much more lakhs compared to the book of accounts of the candidate, A Raja. In order to downward the booked expenditure, the Returing Officer is repeatedly harassing me,” he mentioned.
Saravanan demanded the Election Fee to intervene within the matter to make sure that the elections are held in a free and truthful method.
Nonetheless, chatting with India At present, Returning Officer M Aruna refuted the allegations and termed them utterly baseless.
“I looked into the books based on instructions from the expenditure observer as there were some discrepancies. That’s the only reason I called for the books of all parties. However, he only produced details of the DMK and didn’t show me the books of other parties. As there were variations and discrepancies in the figures, I had reprimanded him. Following this, he sent this complaint. In no way, will I put my service into question,” she mentioned.
When requested concerning the controversy, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo mentioned, “We now have taken notice of this based mostly on press stories. After receiving stories from involved officers, additional steps will observe.”
