By IANS
New Delhi : Accusing the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh of violating the model code of conduct, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday asked the Election Commission to stop it from transferring ownership of some power projects to private parties ahead of assembly polls.
In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N. Gopalaswami, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said that the model code of conduct prohibits announcement of any financial grants in any form or promises thereof which may have the effect of influencing the voters in favour of the party in power.
“The reported request of the Himachal Pradesh government is for signing MoUs with certain specified private units for transferring the power projects to their ownership. This amounts to blatant misuse of power for the obvious purpose of extending the area of influence of the party in power through the beneficiaries and, of course, the amassing of large financial resources during the run-up to elections — a period in which governments have to function in a lame duck fashion,” he said.
Citing the observations of the Supreme Court in a case, Naqvi said: “To arrange to spend money on the eve of elections, although for general public good, is an evil practice. The dividing line between an evil practice and a corrupt practice is a thin one.”
He charged that in the present case of the Himachal Pradesh government’s request, there is not even the facade of a dividing line.
“This is an open bid for a major corrupt practice and consequently this move should be nipped in the bud,” Naqvi said.
The state is going to the polls this month and the next.