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Report on Jaswant under study: EC

J. Balaji

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Wednesday announced that it would take an “appropriate decision” on the complaint against senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh relating to “money distribution” after going into the report of the Rajasthan Chief Electoral Officer and the compact disc being sent with it.

The EC would not like to react to the question that the Barmer Collector-cum-Returning Officer, in his report to the State CEO, had given a clean chit to the former External Affairs Minister. “We cannot comment without viewing the CD,” Deputy Election Commissioner R. Balakrishnan told journalists here.

According to media reports, Mr. Singh allegedly handed over a Rs.100 note to a group of Manganiars (traditional singers in the desert) when he was campaigning at Gagaria village, 50 km. from Barmer, for his son Manavendra Singh, sitting BJP MP from Barmer. Another BJP leader and sitting MP from Tonk (Rajasthan) Kailash Meghwal had given Rs.10,000 to a leprosy affected woman in the presence of Mr. Jaswant Singh. Food packets were also distributed to the villagers.

On the controversy in West Bengal, where Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee protested against the EC’s earlier direction allegedly seeking the removal of portraits of freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and poet Rabindranath Tagore from the Writers’ Buildings (the Secretariat of the State government in Kolkata) the DEC said it had issued a revised instruction.

According to the fresh order, images of past national leaders, poets and prominent historical personalities, the President and the Governors could be displayed in government buildings and on the premises. However, photographs of the Prime Minister, the Chief Ministers, Ministers and other political functionaries should not be displayed.

Mr. Balakrishnan said the EC’s intention was that photographs of political functionaries, who had deep influence on the minds of electors and many of whom were still active, should not be displayed in government buildings.

“In view of the inputs received, the Commission had issued the instructions,” he said.

Mr. Balakrishnan said the Commission had given fresh instructions on the detailed recordings through video cameras and digital cameras during the filing of nominations, campaigning and polling.

The Commission was “considering” another complaint against Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on code violation in Rajasthan.

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