CM wields induction cooker,EC takes note

In the process,it also appears to be raising the hackles of the Election Commission.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister P K Dhumals latest poll weapon the induction cooker is not just enabling him to hit out directly at the Congress-led UPA government over the recently introduced cap on LPG cylinders,but is also creating probably the greatest buzz in the run up to the November 4 Assembly polls in this hill state. In the process,it also appears to be raising the hackles of the Election Commission.

Dhumal,currently racing against the clock in wrapping up public meetings in his own constituency,Hamirpur,is using the induction cooker to enormous effect. Within the first couple of minutes of speech,at meeting after meeting,Dhumal invariably talks of how the Congress has increased your woes by imposing a cap on gas cylinders and hiking their prices. And,as if on cue,is handed a lightweight induction cooker by an aide who follows the leader at all meetings,carrying the appliance.

This is an induction cooker. It runs on electricity and not LPG. You can cook two meals in a matter of a couple of minutes. The Congress is going to give you LPG cylinders for Rs 1,000 each8230;this will cook two meals for you in two units of electricity. We will help you run your kitchens for Rs 150 per month, he tells a cheering crowd at Gauta village.

Having secured his audiences attention,Dhumal then drives home the promise. Our government will provide this cooker free of cost,first to the poorest of poor and subsequently to all, he tells the gathering.

We cant give you LPG cylinders8230; they are given by the central government in Delhi. But will give you these induction cookers,which run on electricity and will give the greatest relief to your kitchens, he tells a roaring crowd at Mair village.

The drill continues at the next half-a-dozen public meetings he rushes through. The audiences,mostly rural,look at the appliance in awe and listen in rapt attention.

And even as the Congress is crying foul over the BJP labelling LPG as a Congress product and luring the voters with these induction cookers,Dhumal is unfazed. This is a part of our election manifesto. Whats wrong with it? he asks.

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State Chief Electoral Officer Narinder Chauhan,when contacted,said: We have made a reference to the EC on whether such a display constitutes a violation of the model code of conduct and whether it amounts to luring the voters. The concept has arisen out of the partys manifesto. There are tangible and intangible elements in a manifesto. For instance,a party may promise hundreds of jobs but may not be able to show it tangibly. But this is a product one can buy and display. Currently,we are looking at it as a party activity and not that of the government.