Photo: EPS
Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Kerala Rathan U Kelkar has removed two election officials over an incident in which copies of an Election Commission of India letter, carrying the seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit, were circulated among political parties.
According to the CEO’s office, a Deputy CEO and a Section Officer were relieved of their duties and sent back to their parent departments as part of the action taken.
Earlier, an assistant in the office, Jaisal P Azeez, who is associated with a pro-LDF NGO union and was alleged to have forwarded the letters, had been placed under suspension, TNIE reported.
The disciplinary measures followed an inquiry conducted by Additional CEO P B Nooh.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s Kerala unit reportedly objected strongly to the development, rejecting suggestions that it was merely a procedural lapse. Party state general secretary S Suresh alleged that the incident was part of a deliberate political conspiracy involving sections of the state administration and officials linked to the poll body.