Agartala: The opposition CPI-M on Saturday moved the Election Commission of India (ECI) accusing Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha of violating the Model Code of Conduct, which has come into force with the announcement of by-poll to four assembly constituencies in the stat.
The party demanded the State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) take steps against the violation.
The CPI-M State secretary Jitendra Chowdhury referred to Saha’s visit to Jubarajnagar and Surma on Saturday and said, “The tour programme clearly reveals that the Chief Minister was conducting this tour mainly for election campaign purpose along with four of his party leaders.”
The tour programme had clearly mentioned that the Chief Minister would fly by helicopter and held meetings with the district administration of North Tripura and Dhalai Districts “violating the model election code, Chowdhury alleged
Firstly, in conducting the tour, the Chief Minister has violated para (a) and (b) of rule 1 of section VII under the caption ‘Party in Power’ of the Model Code of Conduct, where ‘combining the official visit with electioneering works’ by the ministers is prohibited, and use of any type of government transport for the furtherance of the interest of the party in power is forbidden, read the complaint.
Second, the District Magistrate & Collectors of both North Tripura and Dhalai Districts are now designated as District Election Officers. “Their meeting with the Chief Minister and other BJP leaders is a clear violation of the election code, which needs to be taken seriously,” Chowdhury pointed out.
