Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Gwalior bench on Saturday allowed the registration of FIRs against any political rally comprising more than a 100 people to ensure social distancing amid Covid-19.
By-elections for 28 assembly constituencies will be held in MP on November 3. The bench, comprising Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Rajiv Kumar Srivastava, made the decision keeping in mind the ongoing coronavirus pandemic after Advocate Ashish Pratap filed a plea in the matter.
If coming across a violation by any political party, any person can take photos as proof and file an FIR at the nearby police station.
The Election Commission, after recently announcing the dates for 2020 Bihar Elections, had stressed on following Covid-19 norms amid political campaigning and voting.
The general guidelines issued by EC entail wearing masks, ensuring social distancing and and utilising large halls for voting with the provision of hand sanitisers and soap.
For the “distribution and collection of election material”, the Election Commission has directed the use of large halls/spaces. “As far as practicable, it should be organised in decentralised manner,” the guidelines read.
As the state gears up for the by-polls, former Chief Minister Kamal Nath previously said these were not just general elections, but would determine the future of the state. In August, the senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in MP said he has been working to strengthen his party in the last four months and the fight was not with the BJP’s achievements, but its organisation.
MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan had wrested power from Congress’s Kamal Nath who resigned as Chief Minister in March earlier in the year following a breakdown of the government ensuing from an internal rebellion.
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