The Hindu : National : Political parties to pay for defacement of public property

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 27, 2004

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National

Political parties to pay for defacement of public property

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, DEC. 26. The Election Commission has directed the Bihar Government to fix the penalty for defacement of public property in the State and recover the cost for restoring these properties from the political parties concerned. It also asked political parties to remove their posters from public property by December 30.

The Commission asked the State Chief Secretary to ascertain how the defacement was allowed to take place. Similar instructions have also been issued to the Railway Board chairman, a Commission press release said.

These decisions were taken at a meeting of the Election Commission called here today to discuss the report of K.J. Rao, Adviser to the Commission, who visited Bihar last week following complaints of violation of the model code of conduct and the alleged misuse of official machinery by the ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The report noted largescale defacement of public property, including at the airport and the railway station, by RJD activists for the proposed rally at Patna on December 23. Some violations by the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were noted.

Report sought

The Commission asked the Chief Secretary to send a report by December 31 on fixing the responsibility of the officers concerned for their acts of omission and commission. He has been asked to obtain the explanations of the officers responsible for violation of the Bihar Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 1985 and forward the same to the Commission by January 5, 2005.

All District Election Officers-cum-District Magistrates have been asked to recover the expenditure incurred by them on the removal of hoardings, banners, posters, cut-outs and arches from the political parties concerned by January 14, 2005 and send a compliance report to the Commission the same day.

The Commission instructed the Railway Board to conduct an enquiry into how railway property was allowed to be defaced. The Board was asked send a report in the matter after fixing the responsibility on the officers concerned by December 31. It has also been asked to obtain the explanations of the officers by January 5, 2005. The Railway Board will also recover the damages from the political parties.

In his report, Mr. Rao had mentioned the largsescale defacement of public property by RJD workers in the Nalanda, Vaishali and Patna districts. A number of buildings, both public and private, trees, rocks, signboards and bridges had been used to publicise the December 23 rally. Arches and gates had been erected on the National Highways and other roads while Government hostels, offices, schools, police stations, the High Court and even Secretariat buildings had been defaced by sticking banners and posters. Bogies of the Rajgir Intercity Express, the reservation counters and the Computerised Reservation Centre were also not spared.

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