BJP moves EC against key appointments

"This is to seek your intervention in the tendency that seems to be on the increase in the Govt. to make major appointments during the election process itself. You are aware of the undue haste with which the naval Chief was appointed. We learn that something similar is cooking in respect of the Army Chief where the present incumbent is due to superannuate in July 2014. We also hear that there is some hurried activity in hastening the selection process of the Lok Pal," the BJP said in a letter to the EC.

 

"It may be recalled the process of selection got aborted by the exit of the eminent jurists and as such the whole selection process currently stands vitiated. These are not desirable trends in a healthy democracy," it said.

 

Calling on the the attention of Chief Election Officer  V.S. Sampath, a BJP memorandum said, "We wish to draw the kind attention of the Hon'ble Election Commission of India to an instance of serious violation of the Model Code of Conduct at a very high level in Govt. by no less an organisation than the PMO itself."

 

"On 18.04.2014, Shri Pankaj Pachauri, Media advisor to the PM convened a Press Conference presumably to attempt a damage control exercise on the fall out of the revelations about the Prime Minister and the PMO contained in the two recently released books—one by Shri Sanjay Baru, Former Media Advisor and the other by retired Coal Secretary," the memorandum said.

 

"In doing so, the Media Advisor has frontally violated the provisions of VII—Party in Power, in the Model Code of Conduct which states that the Party in Power 'shall ensure that no cause is given for any complaint that it has used its official position for the purposes of election campaign.' It is based on this directive that the Commission bans Govt. advertisements, postpones formal inauguration, launches of new projects etc.," the party said.

 

"It is one thing that the former Media Advisor chose this time to release his magnum opus; he is a free citizen and the MCC does not bind him. But the current media advisor, Shri Pachauri, cannot act in a juvenile manner thinking that the freedom which the ex media advisor enjoys, will ipso facto be available to him also," the BJP alleged.

 

"The Prime Minister also has landed himself in the collateral responsibility of explaining this indiscretion. We request the Hon'ble Election Commission to take a serious note of this and proceed against the concerned persons for the violation of the MCC," it said.

 

The party in a separate memorandum also demanded an immediate action to stop to appointment of teachers being made in Kendriya Vidayalayas across the country despite the model code being in force.

 

"We would like to draw the kind attention of the Hon'ble Election Commission of India to the enclosed Notice dated 11.04.2014 issued by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan notifying the conduct of interviews from 21.04.2014 to 24.05.2015 for direct recruitment of primary teachers for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14. The period of interview largely falls within the Lok Sabha Election schedule when the Model Code of Conduct is in full force," it said.

 

"We suspect that besides other prime movers behind such mass recruitments, another hidden motive would be to pressurise the potential candidate to vote for the candidates of the Party in Power....We therefore urge upon the Hon'ble Commission to act post haste and order the cancellation of the impugned notice well before 21.04.2014 when the 1st batch of interviews is scheduled to commence," the BJP said.