Election Commission's ‘strong’ advice to Centre on raids

The Election Commission on Sunday “strongly advised” the finance ministry that any action by its enforcement agencies during the poll season should be “neutral” and “non-discriminatory” and poll panel officials should be kept in the loop.

The commission’s advice came against the backdrop of several income-tax raids in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, and in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in the recent past, on politicians and their associates.

In a letter to the Union revenue secretary, the commission said it would like to “strongly advise that all enforcement actions during the election period… should be absolutely neutral, impartial and non-discriminatory”.

It said the state chief electoral officers must be kept “suitably informed” about any suspected use of illicit money in the polls.