To check MCC violations, command & control centres set up in J&K

Srinagar, Aug 21 (IANS) Command and control centres were set up on Wednesday at the Srinagar and Jammu offices of J&K’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to check violations of the model code of conduct (MCC).

An official statement by the CEO mentioned, “To curb the spread of misinformation and uphold the integrity of the electoral process in the upcoming Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Command and Control Centres have been set up in the offices of the CEO at Jammu and Srinagar. Similarly, on smaller sizes, control rooms have been made functional on a 24/7 basis in all 20 DC offices.”

“Equipped with state-of-art infrastructure, the Command-and-Control Centre has integrated latest technologies. It would function round-the-clock to keep a close vigil on all the election-related activities ensuring strict and prompt action, including against any suspected case of fake news.

The establishment of Command and Control Centres would bolster the electoral process in Jammu and Kashmir and will be a collaborative workspace to review the situation in all the 90 constituencies of the union territory, according to the CEO’s statement.

“In addition to electronic channels, the Command & Control Centre is also keeping strict vigil on social media channels and media portals and accounts viz a viz Media Monitoring on such elements who may attempt to build any such narrative which can prove detrimental to the peace and tranquillity in the society, violate ECI norms of MCC applicable to all stakeholders,” the statement said.

“It is pertinent to mention here that CEO of Jammu and Kashmir, has appealed to all citizens and all political parties to adhere to the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India in order to maintain the sanctity of the democratic process in J&K. He also appealed to general public to use C-Vigil app for highlighting MCC related violations. He assured to take all such complaints to logical conclusion within the time frame of ECI, that is 100 minutes,” the statement said.

The Assembly elections for 90 seats will be held in three phases — September 18, 25 and October 1. The voting will be held at 24 seats in the first phase on September 18. Another 26 seats will vote in the second phase on September 25. The final phase, on October 1, will see voting in 40 seats. The counting will take place on October 4.

–IANS

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