After being held accountable for COVID surge by Madras High Court, Election Commission bans all victory processions on May 2

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has banned all victory processions and occasions on May 2, which is the day the votes in 5 states can be counted. Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala have accomplished polling, whereas one remaining section can be held in West Bengal on Thursday. The counting of votes on Sunday would end in large-scale celebrations, particularly in West Bengal, the place the BJP is properly poised to kind the following authorities. The determination of the EC to ban such victory processions got here a day after the Madras High Court, for causes finest identified to it, denigrated the establishment with moderately extravagant use of phrases.Issuing an order to the chief electoral officers of all states and union territories, the EC stated that it has determined to place out extra stringent provisions, to be adopted in the course of the strategy of vote-counting.”No victory procession after the relying on 2.5.2021 shall be permissible. Not greater than two individuals shall be allowed to accompany the successful candidate or his/her licensed consultant obtain the certificates of election from the Returning Officer involved,” the EC’s letter stated. According to the Hindustan Times, the Covid-19 associated provisions for counting of votes on May 2 are to be in accordance with the broad tips dated August 21, 2020, with the addition of the brand new protocols issued on Tuesday.On Monday, the Madras High Court had slammed the Election Commission by holding it accountable for the Covid surge being seen throughout the nation. A bench comprising justices Sanjib Banerjee and Senthil Ramamoorthy charged, “You are the only institution responsible for the situation that we are in today. You have been singularly lacking any kind of exercise of authority. You have not taken measures against political parties holding rallies despite every order of this court saying ‘maintain covid protocol, maintain covid protocol, like a broken record…”. Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee even went to the extent of claiming that EC officers ought to most likely be “booked on murder charges” for permitting political rallies in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.The bench additionally threatened the EC, by saying that the High Court would cease the counting of votes on 2 May, if it didn’t put a stringent plan for imposing Covid-appropriate behaviour and security in place. In the latest previous, the Election Commission has come underneath extreme assault from a number of quarters for discharging its duties. Pandemic or not, democracy mustn’t ever be allowed to take the backseat in India.