EC to watch Uma footsteps in Maharashtra

Even as Uma Bharati asserted today that the BJP won8217;t stoop so low as to use the Tricolour issue as a poll plank in Maharashtra, the El...

Even as Uma Bharati asserted today that the BJP won8217;t stoop so low as to use the Tricolour issue as a poll plank in Maharashtra, the Election Commission said it would keep a close watch on her Tiranga Yatra in the poll-bound state and initiate swift, punitive action against the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister if she was found to be mixing politics with religion.

Mincing no words, Chief Election Commission T.S. Krishnamurthy today said that strict action would also be taken against any party that attempts to use the Ganesha festival in the state for political ends. His message was clear: 8216;8216;No mixing of religion and politics during elections8217;8217;.

Bharati, on the other hand, told a gathering at Dharwad that if the BJP had plans to cash in on the Tricolour issue, it would not have launched the yatra from Hubli in Karnataka where no polls are being held. 8216;8216;It is the Congress which is adept at such tactics,8217;8217; she quipped.

Bharati clarified that the main objective of her yatra was to rekindle the spirit of nationalism and uphold the dignity of the Tricolour.

Krishnamurthy refused to comment on whether Bharati8217;s yatra 8212; scheduled to enter Maharashtra this weekend 8212; would make the situation volatile in the state. But he categorically said that 8216;8216;adequate action would be taken, if there is a problem 8212; either by the state government or else by the Election Commission8217;8217;.

In an attempt to distance himself from the ongoing war of words between the Congress-led coalition and the Opposition BJP, he said the Commission is not in a habit of 8216;8216;anticipating problems8217;8217;.

8216;8216;We take swift action, when required,8217;8217; he added.

He also reiterated his view on small parties that they should be allowed to contest only Assembly/state elections for the sake of good governance and clean elections.