New Delhi: As top leaders are under the scrutiny of the poll watchdog, the Election Commission (EC), it has come to light that government think tank NITI Aayog has infringed poll norms by procuring information from government departments allegedly for the campaign purposes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
NITI Aayog has asked the bureaucrats in a few Union Territories and at least one BJP-ruled state to send information on the local area to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) ahead of Prime Minister's election campaigns in these areas, according to Scroll.in.
An email, allegedly written by Pinky Kapoor an economic officer at NITI Aaayog, asks bureaucrats to provide in a detailed report information such as history, local heroes, and socio-cultural and economic importance of the respective regions ahead of the PM's short visit to these areas. This email was accessed by the news portal.
If proved, this would prove to be a gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The code is enforced during the election period to ensure that political parties, ruling or otherwise, do not misuse their power to influence the elections in any manner.
According to the MCC, Section VII 1 (a) “The Ministers shall not combine their official visit with electioneering work and shall not also make use of official machinery or personnel during the electioneering work.”
The e-mail was addressed the top bureaucrats of Chandigarh, Delhi and Puducherry. Documents have also been sent to BJP-ruled Maharashtra.
In fact, the detailed report sent by the Distric Collector of Gondia in Maharasthra has the history, population statistics and demographic profile of the area. Similar reports have also been filed by the bureaucrats of Latur and Wardha districts of Maharashtra, Scroll.in reports.
These districts were covered by Modi in the first 10 days of April, a month after the MCC came into effect as the general election was announced early last month.
Violation of Model Code of Conduct
This is not the first time the PM Modi has been accused of violating the MCC. The Supreme Court bench headed by Ranjan Gogoi will hear on Tuesday the Assam Congress MP, Sushmita Dev's plea against the EC inaction on the alleged hate speeches by Modi and Amit Shah, who is his party's national president. The plea also flags using the name of armed forces for political propaganda.
Dev alleged that "inaction" by EC on complaints against top BJP leaders was "a sign of invidious discrimination" and was "arbitrary, capricious and impermissible" as it was destructive of the integrity of the electoral process.
The EC had earlier censured the NITI Aayog Chairperson Rajiv Kumar for violating the code when he criticised Congress's election manifesto for committing Rs 72,000 to the poorest 20% families in the country. The EC pointed out that bureaucrats were expected to maintain the sanctity of the election process by not engaging in any public appearances that might disturb the process.
Repeating history: Indira Gandhi debarred
Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, was found guilty under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 for allegedly hiring a government official as her campaign organiser. She was subsequently disqualified for holding an 'elected office', viz. Prime Minister's office. The Emergency was declared in 1975 in the aftermath of this debarment.
