Not to Use School and College Grounds for Election Rallies - Chief Electoral Officer

Punjab and Haryana High Court has Imposed Ban on Election Events in Educational Institutions

Star Campaigners must comply with Model Code of Conduct

Chandigarh, September 21 – Haryana Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. Pankaj Agarwal today said that political parties and candidates will not be permitted by the Election Commission to use school and college playgrounds for election rallies. He said that this ban is in accordance with a ruling from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Mr. Agarwal further said that during the election campaign, the voter sentiments will not be exploited on the basis of caste, religion or community. He cited the importance of maintaining high ethical standards throughout the campaign. He said that the citizens of India have the right to freedom of expression under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution, but the objective of the Model Code of Conduct is mentioned under its various provisions and it should be observed strictly.


Further, he said that no religious places such as temples, mosques, churches, or gurdwaras can be utilized for campaign purposes and speeches, posters, music, or any other election-related materials will not be used in these places. He said that photographs of defense personnel or events involving them must not be used in advertisements during the campaign.

Regarding compliance of the election code of conduct by star campaigners, he said that the star campaigners should also comply with mode code of conduct strictly.
To ensure transparency and accountability, the Election Commission has mandated the Chief Electoral Officer and District Election Officers to maintain register for violation of model code of conduct. This register will document the names of candidates, campaigners, and political parties, along with details of the violations, actions taken, and directions issued by the Election Office or the Election Commission. Information on these violations will be made publicly available, and interested parties, including the media, will be able to access this data, said Mr. Agarwal.

=====================================================

Haryana to Begin Paddy Procurement From October 1 Due to Continuous Rainfall in September

Increasing Rainfall raises Moisture level in crops, Farmers can bring the dry crops for Procurement from October 1

Chandigarh September 21- The paddy procurement for the Kharif Marketing Season 2024-25 in Haryana will now begin from October 1, 2024 instead of September 23. The change has been made because the State has received more than double the average rainfall as of September 20.

Due to continuous rain, there is likely to be delay in harvesting and drying of crops. Therefore, the government scheduled for the Kharif crops has now been fixed from October 1 to November 15, 2024, so that the farmers can dry thier crops in time before bringing it to the mandis for procurement.

Giving information in this regard, a spokesperson of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department said, as of September, Haryana has received 108.9 mm of rainfall, whereas the state recorded only 69.3 mm of rain throughout August and 39.3 mm in September of 2023.

This year due to the continuous rainfall in the months of August and September, there is less possibility of early harvesting of crops. Hence, the schedule of early procurement of crops has been changed.

The spokesperson further said that approximately 60 lakh metric tons of paddy is expected to be procured during the Kharif Marketing season 2024-25. The Government of India has fixed the minimum support price for paddy (common) at Rs 2300 per quintal and Rs 2320 per quintal for grade-A paddy. To facilitate procurement, 241 mandis/ procurement centers have been opened across the state.

Additionally, the purchase of Bajra and moong will take place from October 1 to November 15. For this purpose, 91 mandis/procurement centres have been made functional for the procurement of Bajra and 38 for moong. The department has made all necessary arrangements for the government procurement of other Kharif crops, including cotton, moong, maize, jwar, groundnut, sesame, and tur, at the minimum support price.