Mr. Gupta said that before both the State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, the enforcement agencies, including the I-T department, increased surveillance and also got information about unexplained cash and jewellery on toll-free numbers created for the purpose. “The States where we are right now in elections we have seized more cash than what was seized in the corresponding time in the State Assembly elections or Lok Sabha 2019,” Mr. Gupta told presspersons here. He said pre-election monitoring of unexplained cash and surveillance is very intense and the entire activity is coordinated at the level of the Election Commission and State election authority. Such seizures, which were ₹322 crore in 2021 and ₹347 crore in 2022, have risen to ₹1,021 crore till October 2023. As per the SoP, tax officers were asked to monitor the distribution of coupon-based or free fuel or cash for alluring prospective voters.

Source: The Hindu November 16, 2023 12:27 UTC