The Opposition BJP has petitioned the Election Commission seeking the suspension of Karnataka Chief Secretary Rajneesh Goel for “allowing the premises of Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat, to be used for political purposes by the ruling Congress against the spirit of the model code of conduct during the Lok Sabha polls.”
A BJP delegation led by Leader of the Opposition R. Ashok submitted the petition to the Election Commission in which the party accused Mr. Goel of “acting as per the wish of the Congress government.” Mr. Ashok took exception to the ruling Congress leaders including AICC General Secretary Randeep Surjewala and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah staging a protest at the secretariat.
Pointing out that the matter was before the Supreme Court, he also questioned the propriety of holding the protest at this juncture. He alleged that the Congress was only trying to mislead the voters in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls through such a protest “by projecting the Centre in poor light.”
The BJP also filed another complaint before the Election Commission in which it urged the Commission to register a case against Congress top leaders Mr. Surjewala, Mr. Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for their alleged mala fide intention in showing the Centre in poor light at the time of polls. It sought that they be barred from taking up any public campaign for the Lok Sabha polls.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ashok took exception to the Congress terming the Centre’s statement before the Supreme Court that it would resolve the drought worries of Karnataka within a week as a “victory” to its legal fight. He argued that the Centre, which had been stating that the drought relief issue was before the Election Commission, had only reiterated its position.
