 | « Back to article | Print this article |
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday moved the Election Commission seeking directions from it to stop the government from making key appointments including those of the Army Chief and the Lokpal when the poll process is on.
The opposition party also sought action against the prime minister's media adviser for allegedly violating the model code by listing achievements of the government in a press conference when the election process is underway.
"The government must be instructed that it doesn't make any appointment to important posts as it is in violation of the model code of conduct," BJP general secretary J P Nadda said after leading a party delegation to Deputy Election Commissioner Sudhir Tripathi to whom a memorandum was handed over.
In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner, the BJP has sought his intervention saying, "the tendency that seems to be on the increase in the government to make major appointments during the election process itself. You are aware of the undue haste with which the Naval Chief was appointed."
"We learn that something similar is cooking in respect of the Army Chief where the present incumbent is due to superannuate in July 2014. We also hear that there is some hurried activity in hastening the selection process of the Lok Pal," it said adding that the selection process got aborted by the exit of eminent jurists.
"As such the whole selection process currently stands vitiated. These are not desirable trends in a healthy democracy," the party said.
The memorandum said, "The prime minister also has landed himself in the collateral responsibility of explaining this indiscretion."
BJP also sought action on alleged deletion of names of over 1 lakh voters in Pune Lok Sabha constituency and asked the EC to allow all such voters to exercise their franchise at a later date.
The memorandum demanded an immediate stop to appointment of teachers being made in Kendriya Vidayalayas across the country despite the model code being in force.
In its complaint, BJP has alleged the PM's media adviser Pankaj Pachouri talked at length about the achievements of the prime minister at his press conference on Friday.
"The media adviser is also a government employee and he is violating the Model Code of Conduct by speaking about the government's achievements. We have demanded a thorough inquiry into it and appropriate action in this regard," he said.
The BJP memorandum alleges the PM's media adviser has "frontally violated" the provisions of section VII of the MCC that states that the party in power shall ensure that no cause is given for any complaint that it has used its official position for the purpose of election campaign.
The party accused Pachouri, who is a government servant, of "wilful breach" of the code.
"We request the EC to take a serious note of this and proceed against the concerned persons for violation of the MCC," it said.
While stating that the former media advisor is a free citizen as the MCC does not bind him after he chose this time to release his magnum opus, the BJP said the current media advisor cannot act in a "juvenile manner thinking that the freedom which the ex-media advisor enjoys, will ipso facto be available to him also".
It said Pachauri is a government servant drawing his salary from the Consolidated Fund of India and this indiscretion on his part exposes him to be charge sheeted under the government servants conduct rules and proceeded against for wilful breach of the code.