Karnataka - Hubli-Dharwad   

Election Commission issues notices to eight persons

DHARWAD: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued notices to eight persons, including two former MLAs and the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor of Hubi-Dharwad, for violating the model code of conduct.

The Principal Secretary, ECI, issued the notices on April 10, seeking explanation from them on the unveiling of the equestrian statue of Basaveshwara in Dharwad when the model code of conduct was in force.

Sources told The Hindu that the ECI had served notices on the former MLAs Chandrakant Bellad of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Vinay Kulkarni of the Congress, Mayor Radhbai Safare, Deputy Mayor Chandrashekhar Managundi, and Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) council members Bharati Patil, Ashok Niduvani, Prakash Godbole and Vijayanand Shetty.

The ECI issued notices based on the report submitted by the State Chief Electoral Officer after the statue unveiling ceremony on April 8. The Dharwad district administration had taken exception to the unveiling of the statue and, based on the report submitted by the HDMC Commissioner, two Assistant Commissioners of the corporation were suspended on the same day.

The statue has been installed on land belonging to the HDMC, and half of the project’s cost was borne by the corporation. The unveiling ceremony was organised by the statue installation committee without bringing it to the notice of the corporation.

In the notice, the ECI said that with the unveiling of the statue, Rule 7 of the model code of conduct had been violated.

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