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Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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EC slaps notice on Raghuveera Reddy

Special Correspondent

Separate notice issued to State government for ‘violation’ of poll code

NEW DELHI: Taking a stern view of certain derogatory remarks made against it, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday issued a notice to Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy. And, acting on a preliminary enquiry by the Chief Electoral Officer of the State, a separate notice has been issued to the State government for certain reported decisions that could impact the upcoming byelections in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

Both the State government and Mr. Reddy have been given time till Wednesday evening to clarify their positions. The notice to Mr. Reddy articulates the Commission’s displeasure and clearly states that “your clarification shall reach” by the stipulated time. In its notice to Mr. Reddy, the Commission said it is of the “prima facie view” that the statement attributed to him “amounts to gross interference in the functioning of the ECI”. Mr. Reddy had “made some derogatory remarks” about the Commission in connection with the grant of permission to the State government to conduct the Rythu Chaitanya Yatra to generate awareness among farmers about the pro-farmer measures adopted by the current dispensation.

As for the notice to the State government, the Commission is acting on the preliminary report submitted by the CEO on complaints about the Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy administration taking decisions that could impact the upcoming byelections in the State. According to the Commission, the report showed that though the State government had not issued any formal orders on any of the decisions it had taken since the MCC came into effect, wide publicity was given to the decisions by the Ministers themselves.

“When the MCC is in force in as many as 10 districts of the State, any announcement about any concession of a new policy decision which are capable of influencing the voters in the districts where the byelections are being conducted should not have been announced without prior consultation with the ECI,” the Commission said in a letter to the Chief Secretary.

The letter points to four specific decisions reported to have been taken by the State government: Enhancing the income limit for white ration cards in rural and urban areas, dropping 88,300 power pilferage cases to waive Rs. 11.79 crore of penalty, granting electricity connections at a nominal deposit of Rs. 125 under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana and assuring nine hours of free power supply to farmers.

Meanwhile, the Commission has also asked the Chief Secretary of the State to come to the Capital on May 16 for discussions on the conduct of the elections. The CEO of the State will also be present at that meeting. The State is facing byelections after TRS legislators resigned en masse in protest against the delay in formation of a separate State.

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