Election Commission to look into complaint against plan to involve officers in yatra on govt’s ‘feat’

In an October 14 order, the Union Agriculture Ministry made plans for holding a nationwide “Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra” from November 20 to January 26 to create awareness about the Modi’s government’s work over the past nine years even as the EC on October 9 announced Assembly poll schedule in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Telangana.

The MCC came into force from the time polls were announced.

In a letter to the three-member Commission on October 21, retired IAS officer E A S Sarma said the instructions issued by the Department of Personnel on October 17 to all ministries to nominate officers as “district rath prabharis” was a “brazen infringement” of the MCC. He said that the instructions would be a misuse of government machinery for influencing voters. Sarma asked the EC to direct the government to revoke the instructions and impose a penalty on those involved.

On Monday, in another letter to the EC, Sarma said public servants taking part in any activity that was likely to influence voters was a violation of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules.