Instructing the heads of all departments in Andhra Pradesh to implement the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in a fool-proof manner, Chief Secretary K.S. Jawahar Reddy and Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena have said that complaints related to the election code violations should be addressed on priority basis.
Mr. Jawahar Reddy and Mr. Meena were addressing the Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and Special Chief Secretaries at the Secretariat at Velagapudi in Guntur on March 19 (Tuesday) on the implementation of the MCC.
The Chief Secretary instructed the Secretaries to remove all the photographs and videos of the Chief Minister, the Ministers and other public representatives from the government’s official websites.
The TDP had, in fact, lodged a complaint on the MCC violations with respect to removal of the photographs and videos of the Chief Minister and other Ministers from the government websites, alleging that the officials did not remove them even after completion of 48 hours of the MCC coming into force.
The Chief Secretary further instructed the officers to ensure that no photographs of the Chief Minister or other political leaders were on the walls of the government buildings. Instructing the officials not to allow any political advertisements on the government properties, Mr. Jawahar Reddy said that if there were any such advertisements, remove them immediately.
Mr. Meena said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) would take stringent action on violations of the code by any government employee. He said that no government employee was allowed to participate in political campaigns or any other political activity.
He warned that if any employee was found violating the MCC rules, the ECI would take suitable action against them. At this juncture, the Chief Secretary asked the higher officials to instruct all employees to restrain from participating in political activities.
Level-playing field
In another meeting with the District Collectors and District Election Officers, Mr. Meena instructed that all the unauthorised political advertisements on public places and government properties be removed. He also instructed the DEOs to ensure equal priority to all the political parties while allocating advertisement places and hoardings on roads, national highways. It would help in ensuring a level-playing field among all the contesting parties and candidates, he said.
