Chief Minister move on code draws flak

“It is nothing but a blatant attempt by the Chief Minister to not only undermine but also challenge the Election Commission’s authority,” former Rajya Sabha member and veteran legal luminary Brahmkumar Bhatt told Express Newsline on Sunday in his reaction to Patel’s letter.

Bhatt said, “The EC is a quasi-judicial authority which is always respected by all political parties in this country, particularly those in power in different States. If the Chief Minister really feels the EC’s guidelines under the Model Code of Conduct now in force in the State are unconstitutional and illegal, he should challenge it in the court of law or defy it if he has the guts”.

In fact, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is perturbed over the EC’s sudden announcement of schedule for Lok Sabha elections in the first phase in Gujarat, forcing the party bosses to cancel all poll-related functions the Chief Minister and his ministerial colleagues were scheduled to attend in different parts of the State a week before declaration of the poll schedule.

Leader of the Opposition Amarsinh Chaudhary says the Chief Minister has an ulterior motive in writing to the CEC. “He wants to misuse the administrative machinery and lure the gullible electorate of the State to reap electoral gains for the BJP.”

“When Patel was in the Opposition, he was all praise for the EC strictly enforcing the Model Code of Conduct in the State during the general elections, now he suspects the role of the same EC,” recalls Chaudhary.

Chaudhary also termed Keshubhai Patel’s decision to fly in the State Government’s helicopter to Surat on Saturday to attend a function as “a blatant violation of the Model Code of Conduct”. He said he would draw the attention of the State Chief Electoral Officer to this.

Sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) here ruled out the possibility of the CEC conceding the Chief Minister’s demand for modifying the guidelines contained in the Model Code of Conduct. “Other States, too, will raise a similar demand, if the CEC obliges the Gujarat Chief Minister,” the sources said.

If the ministers or office-bearers of various government-owned boards and corporations are allowed to use their official vehicles and attend official functions in their areas, there is all possibility of their misusing the administrative machinery to influence the voters. Besides, their visits may hamper poll-related preparations being carried out by CEO staff, they said.