HEADLINES QUOTE UNQUOTE YEH HAI INDIA PIC OF THE DAY POLL ARCHIVES FEEDBACK SEARCH REDIFF
NEWSLINKS US EDITION NEWS DEAR REDIFF THE STATES ARCHIVES Special Offer Gift your parents good health
The Election Commission on Tuesday took strong exception to Congress candidate in the Kanakapura Lok Sabha constituency writing a letter to state government employees soliciting their votes and that of their relatives.
"This letter of the Congress candidate to government servants seems to violate the model code of conduct, which inter alia states that government machinery and personnel shall not be used for furtherance of the interest of the party in power," the EC said in a press note taking suo motu cognisance of the letter.
Shivakumar, who is the state cooperation minister, is pitted against former prime minister and Janata Dal (S) leader H D Deve Gowda.
The appeal by Congress candidate D K Shivakumar exhorting government servants to 'convince' their family members and friends of the popular programmes of Congress and to 'insist upon them' to cast their votes in favour of the Congress is also likely to attract the provisions of the Representation of the People Act which prohibit, as a corrupt practice, any attempt to obtain the assistance of government servants for the furtherance of the prospects of any candidate in an election, it said.
It said the EC considered this appeal as an 'unfortunate development and expresses its strong disapproval'.
PTI
EARLIER REPORT: Deve Gowda slugs it out in Congress bastion
