Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], March 24 : Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala, Dr. Rathan U. Kelkar, on Tuesday addressed the controversy over a letter circulated by the Kerala CEO's office that bore the seal of a political party, saying the matter has been clarified with all stakeholders and corrective action taken.
Speaking to ANI, Dr. Kelkar said, "I have already given my clarification to the media and all political parties yesterday. After the incident had happened, we have taken all the steps required, which are supposed to be taken. It happened because on 19th March, the BJP had given a request for clarification on a particular guideline. That 2019 guideline had the seal of the political party. When our people processed the file, they had done so by omission, which we consider a serious lapse."
He said the original guideline, which was supposed to be sent to the political parties, "was not sent due to an omission, a mistake and a lapse. This guideline, which has the political party's symbol seal, has been sent to all the political parties. Once we came to know about it, we withdrew this particular letter on the 21st March itself. We have issued a fresh letter to everybody with the correct guidelines and informed the media clearly about our stand."
Dr. Kelkar added, "We have taken strict action against the concerned officer who has created this omission, suspending them with immediate effect. We have placed the officer to conduct an inquiry into this matter and report within 48 hours."
On Monday, Kerala Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) suspended an Assistant Section Officer following a "clerical error" that saw a document with a BJP seal mistakenly distributed as an official Election Commission communication.
In an X post, the office clarified that the error occurred when a photocopy of the 2019 guidelines submitted by the BJP, bearing their seal, was inadvertently redistributed to other political parties, prompting immediate rectification by senior officials in the office.
"The BJP Kerala Unit had recently approached the CEO's office seeking clarification on the 2019 guidelines regarding the publication of criminal antecedents of candidates. Along with their request, the party submitted a photocopy of the original 2019 directive. The party's seal was present on that specific copy provided by them. Due to an oversight, the office failed to notice the party symbol on the submitted document and inadvertently redistributed it to other political parties as part of the requested clarification. The guidelines in question have undergone revisions since 2019, which have already been communicated to all political entities," the Kerala CEO explained in an X post.
Emphasising that the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer acknowledged the lapse as soon as it was detected, it said that the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer issued a formal letter on March 21 to withdraw the erroneous document.
Adding to the clarification, the Kerala CEO added, "The Assistant Section Officer dealing with the file in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer has been placed under suspension pending enquiry."