Photo Source: Babushahi Bureau
Close vigil will be kept on those sending objectionable SMS -Haryana CEO
Cost of bulk SMS will be included in the expenditure account of the candidate
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, May 13, 2024: Haryana Chief Electoral Officer, Anurag Agarwal has said that the cost of bulk SMS sent by the candidate during the campaign in Lok Sabha General Elections-2024 will also be included in the expenditure account of the concerned candidate.
He said that the district administration and the concerned Assistant Returning Officer on getting the information about the use of bulk messages during the election campaign period, will assess the estimate of the expenditure incurred on it from the respective service provider and include the same into the expenditure account of the candidate.
The Chief Electoral Officer said that as per the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India, there will be a complete ban on sending bulk SMS of a political nature during the period up to 48 hours before the end of polling.
During the election campaign in all the districts, mobile service providers have given instructions to bring the information about such bulk SMS to the notice of the monitoring team. The Commission has also issued detailed instructions for the conduct of elections in a free, fair, and peaceful manner.
He said that the teams will also keep a close vigil on those sending objectionable SMS during the election campaign. During the course of the investigation, the sender of such SMS will be traced and appropriate action will be taken against him as per rules, he added.