EC refutes TMC charge over webcasting contract to Guj firm
Kolkata: The
Election Commission
on Thursday dismissed Trinamool's allegations of partisanship in offering a contract for webcasting to a Gujarat-based firm. Bengal CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal said all norms were followed and there was no irregularity in the process.
Agarwal said for the Kaliganj bypolls, an e-tender was conducted as per EC norms, and accordingly, the firm from Ahmedabad was awarded the contract.
On Wednesday, state urban development minister Firhad Hakim claimed in the assembly that the tender was awarded to the Gujarat company by ignoring companies from Bengal. State finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya also pointed fingers at the EC with similar allegations.
Meanwhile, a vendor of the EC — given the contract for webcasting since the 2016 assembly polls — was fined Rs 1.5 crore for not following the poll panel's norms and violating rules, an official said. The official questioned how a tainted company with questionable evaluations continued to receive the contract for years. He said guidelines for webcasting were not followed since 2016.
"The company received the contract for the 2021 assembly polls and also for the 2024 LS polls and breached agreements in several instances. The same images were repeatedly shown, or the screen went blank or black during webcasting," the official said. As a penalty, Rs 1.5 crore was deducted from its payment for the 2024 LS polls.
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