NEW DELHI, SEPT 26: The Election Commission is confident that the Government will withdraw from the Supreme Court a case relating to the implementation of the model code of conduct following a consensus on the issue among all major political parties, Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill said today.``I have written to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the resolution passed at an all-party meeting'' which agreed that the code should come into force from the date of announcement of elections, Gill told mediapersons here after releasing a publication brought out by the Commission on major events and new initiatives relating to polls from 1996 to 2000.Replying to questions, Gill said: ``The decision that the code should come into force from the date of announcement of polls is absolutely unanimous. The controversy is finally dead.''The row had started after some political parties felt that the code should be implemented from the date of poll notification and not from the date of announcement of elections. The Commission had convened an all-party meeting earlier this month to reach a consensus on the issue.Asked if he had sought the Prime Minister's intervention for withdrawal of the case pending before the apex court, the CEC said: ``It is obvious.''To another question on the issue of de-recognition of the CPI(M), Janata Dal and Janata Party on the basis of their poll performance, he said the Commission had heard their cases and would pronounce its verdict soon.Describing the publication as a ``good piece of work'' by the Commission's officials for the past many months, Gill said after 13 long years, the Commission had produced a major report running into 400 pages. The period between 1996 and 2000 was unique and unprecedented in the annals of Indian electoral history, he said, adding that within this short period three national elections for the 11th, 12th and 13th Lok Sabha were conducted, the last two on account of premature dissolution of the House.``This period was marked by intense activities on the electoral front with keen contests and several dramatic changes in the political spectrum, making the task of conducting elections that much more challenging and difficult,'' he said.Elaborating on the various hi-tech activities, Gill said the Commission had launched a massive programme for application of information technology, communication and Internet, which has permeated every aspect of its work from Nirvachan Sadan to the remotest corners of the country where electoral activities take place.The Commission has also used Internet technology successfully as an integral part of its core day-to-day activities and has put in place the most comprehensive electoral website in the world, he added.
