Bangalore: CM Yeddyurappa Found Guilty of Poll Code Violation
DHNS
Bangalore, Mar 25: Chief Election Commissioner N Golapaswami, after a day-long review of the preparations for the first phase of elections, found the chief minister prima facie guilty of violating the model code of conduct as he made a speech after 10 pm in Hubli on Monday.
The State government has drawn flak from the Election Commission (EC) for overlooking rules pertaining to the conduct of elections.
Chief Election Commissioner N Golapaswami, after a day-long review of the preparations for the first phase of elections, found the chief minister prima facie guilty of violating the model code of conduct as he made a speech after 10 pm in Hubli on Monday.
“We received a complaint that the chief minister had made an election speech in Hubli recently after 10 pm. Prima facie it (the complaint) seems correct. We will take action against him after receiving a report from the deputy commissioner in this regard,” the CEC told reporters on Tuesday.
Yeddyurappa had participated in an election programme for BJP candidate Prahlad Joshi in Hubli on Monday evening.
He was accompanied by Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani, who is also the minister in charge of the district.
The election authorities in Hubli are learnt to have reported that the chief minister made the speech after 10 pm. The State Government officials too incurred the wrath of the CEC at the meeting held at Vidhana Soudha.
Gopalaswami is learnt to have pulled up deputy commissioners and superintendents of police for poor coverage of electoral photo identity cards (EPIC) and their inability to stop the flow of illegal liquor and money.
The CEC is learnt to have pulled up the deputy commissioners of Bellary and Chikkaballapur along with the IGP, Central range, for not taking measures to stop election code violations. In fact, most complaints from political parties to the CEC were related to Bellary, Chikkaballapur, Shimoga and Coastal Karnataka.
Soon after the meeting, the CEC is learnt to have asked the deputy commissioners of Bellary, Chikkaballapur and the IG to meet him separately. The CEC also warned officials against working for political parties. He told them that he has a list of erring officials, especially from Bellary district.
Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (OCEO), Karnataka, has been directed to conduct a detailed inquiry and submit a report, sources said. He found that the coverage of EPIC in districts is less than 50 pc.
Meanwhile, on a complaint over Hindu Samajotsava, being organised by the VHP in Mangalore, the CEC warned that stringent action will be taken against those trying to incite violence.
The EC is to set up a single window system to issue permissions to political parties to conduct public rallies. Besides, the CEC directed the OCEO to verify whether the BBMP has violated poll code by issuing works for development.