Agartala: CPIM state committee secretary Jitendra Chaudhury has written a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Tripura demanding an investigation into the violation of the Model Code of Conduct by the BJP while submitting nominations on Thursday.
In the letter, Chaudhury said that the desperation that the ruling BJP has been showing in the initial stage of the ongoing bye-elections in two Assembly seats of the state gives us reason to apprehend that if the election authority fails to enforce its commands on the violators, it would be detrimental to vitiate the entire election.
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“On August 16, while approaching the office of the Returning Officer to submit nominations for the Left Front candidates, our mass procession was stopped by the police at a certain point, saying that beyond that point it was a restricted area. Accordingly, our procession stopped there. However, I saw that a large dais had been constructed inside the restricted area by the ruling BJP,” the letter reads.
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He said that he brought the matter to the notice of the CEO, who informed the matter to the District Election Officer (DEO) of the Sepahijala district.
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“In the evening, the DEO himself also spoke to me and assured me that no violation of the MCC would be allowed to happen at any stage of the election. However, today, BJP leaders and most of the ministers, including the Chief Minister, used that dais to address the people gathered on the occasion of submitting nominations for BJP candidates.
On August 8, the day when the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced bye-elections in the state, I wrote a letter to the DEO of Sepahijala district urging for the removal of all publicity materials containing the achievements of the BJP government from the Sepahijala district, where the MCC was imposed immediately after the announcement of the bye-elections. However, no such publicity materials have been removed yet,” said Jiten.
He said it is unfortunate that the ruling party in the state, which should be responsible and respectful of the MCC, is willfully violating it to gain electoral benefits.
“It is expected that, as the chief of the election administration of the state, you would sincerely exert your authority to ensure a level-playing field for all stakeholders and order an investigation into the violation of the MCC mentioned above and take appropriate action against the violators,” the letter added.