EC defied, Digvijay sets up 3 new dists

Two days after an ‘advisory’ from the Election Commission (EC) cautioning against precisely such a move, Madhya Pradesh Chief Mini...

Two days after an ‘advisory’ from the Election Commission (EC) cautioning against precisely such a move, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh has gone ahead and announced three new districts — Ashok Nagar, Burhanpur and Anupnagar.

The necessary notification leading to the creation of these districts on August 15 has been issued and postings of officials, including collectors and SPs, have been announced.

The state government has written to the EC explaining this move and has asked for direction on what needs to be done with regards to the formation of two other new districts, the process for which is still underway.

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The three new districts have been carved out of the existing districts of Guna, Khandwa and Shahdol, respectively. The EC had asked the state to put off the decision, saying it should wait till after the Assembly elections.

While denying that there was any question of confronting the EC, the state government explained in a press statement that the process for formation of these three districts was initiated as far back as 1998. According to the statement, after following the due process, the decision was cleared by the Cabinet on July 11 and the notification issued on August 11.

The statement adds that the EC was informed about the formation of the three districts when work on delimitation of Assembly constituencies was announced and at that time there had been no objection from the Commission.

The statement adds that in case of the two other districts, Sehora and Karot, the prelimnary process has been initiated. The EC’s direction have been sought and for good measure, the statement says 16 new districts were formed just before the last Assembly polls in 1998.