Election Commission pulls up Mahayuti alliance for breach of poll code

The Maharashtra government has come under the scanner for issuing nearly 200 government resolutions, appointments and tenders on the government’s official website after the announcement of Assembly elections dates on October 15 around 3.30 pm.
In doing so, the Mahayuti government breached the Model of Conduct, a matter currently being investigated by the Election Commission.
The Maharashtra government removed several notices from the website after the move was flagged by the election body, with Aam Aadmi Party leader Vijay Kumbhar calling it an “admission of wrongdoing”.
The Election Commission said that the body will meticulously check the timing of the publication of the government resolutions, saying the orders that were issued prior to 3.30 pm, which don’t influence voters, would be considered while the rest would be flagged.
“We will check the timings of the government resolutions uploaded and inquire if it flouted the model code of conduct,” said Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam.
In his letter, Kumbhar claimed that the Maharashtra government removed over 100 resolutions from October 15 and 16.
“Previously, the website displayed 349 government resolutions, but this number has now reduced to 247. It is crucial to investigate the reasons behind the disappearance of these resolutions. Removing these resolutions from the website could be considered an admission of wrongdoing,” Kumbhar said in his letter.
He claimed that the resolutions were announced when the Model Code of Conduct came into effect, further adding that they were aimed at misleading the public. Kumbhar said that while the resolutions were removed from the government’s website, they may have already been implemented, reiterating that their implementation violated the Model Code of Conduct.
“This raises suspicion that, although these resolutions are now missing from public access, they may have already been forwarded to the concerned departments for implementation. If this is the case, it is essential that the details of these missing government resolutions be made available to the public to ensure transparency,” he said.
He asked for action to be taken against any potential political beneficiaries of these government resolutions.