Paid holiday on polling day: IT firms not exempted

April 02, 2014 03:34 pm | Updated May 21, 2016 07:56 am IST - CHENNAI

Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar said the office of the Labour Commissioner had already issued an instruction to all firms and establishments to declare a paid holiday. File photo

Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar said the office of the Labour Commissioner had already issued an instruction to all firms and establishments to declare a paid holiday. File photo

Making it clear that companies in the information technology sector will have to declare a paid holiday on the day of polling (April 24, 2014 in Tamil Nadu), Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar on Wednesday said he would discuss with State IT secretary (T.K. Ramachandran) the matter of ensuring IT companies fall in line with the Election Commission’s directive.

Responding to a reporter’s observation that some IT firms might not grant a holiday on the day of polling, the CEO said the office of the Labour Commissioner had already issued an instruction to all firms and establishments to declare a paid holiday.

Provisions of several laws such as the Representation of People Act, Negotiable Instruments Act and Factories Act could be invoked in this regard. Those who had not given a paid holiday could be booked under Section 135 –B of the RP Act, which stipulates the levy of a fine of Rs. 500.

Case against Anbumani

On the issue of a case filed last week against former Union Minister and Pattali Makkal Katchi youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss on charges of distributing compact discs (CD) allegedly containing video/audio clips that could promote hatred between two communities, Mr. Kumar said he sought a report from Dharmapuri District Collector.

The case against Commercial Taxes Minister M.C. Sampath in connection with an alleged distribution of cash had been dropped on the ground that the incident took place a few days before the model code of conduct came into force.

On the status of complaint given by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam regarding another reported incident of cash distribution in Mookoodi village of Aranthangi taluk (falling under the Ramanathapuram parliamentary constituency) the CEO said a FIR had been filed.

A local official of Aranthangi said the case had been booked under 171 (b) and (e) of the Indian Penal Code against 10 persons including seven for having allegedly received bribe.

Mr. Kumar said that as of now, 778 cases had been filed with regard to violation of the model code of conduct. Cash of Rs. 14.59 crore had been seized and non-cash items, worth Rs. 6.76 crore.

Campaign

He clarified that the restriction on public meetings and use of loudspeakers beyond 10 p.m. would not be applicable to door-to-door canvassing.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.