By IANS,
New Delhi : The schedule for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls should not exceed three weeks, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said here Tuesday.
“The schedule of polling for the Lok Sabha elections should not be stretched too much. It should not exceed at the utmost three weeks,” the CPI-M said in a note submitted at a meeting of political parties convened by the Election Commission.
Politburo member Sitaram Yechury represented the party at the meet.
The CPI-M stressed that single-phase polling should be maintained in states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu where elections are usually held over a day.
“There is no necessity to have multi-phase polling in such states. It will only stretch resources and security requirements.”
The party asked the Election Commission to rectify errors in the voters list.
“The final voters list published on Jan 20, 2009 contain innumerable errors. All the errors must be rectified and caution should be taken to avoid errors in the remaining voters lists,” it said in the note.
The practice of stopping development work during the period of general elections must be reconsidered and continuing programmes like the NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) should not be disrupted, the party stressed.
The CPI-M also requested the poll body to allow party meetings to be held in school and college premises on holidays.
The party urged the Commission to take steps to prevent the interference of the Border Security Force (BSF) in constituencies bordering Bangladesh.
“Proper guidelines for the BSF should be laid down by the Election Commission. BSF should not be allowed to interfere in political and election related issues,” the CPI-M said.