A delegation of Congress leaders met the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India on April 10 to seek intervention, claiming that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was preventing them from advertising in poll-bound Karnataka.
The delegation, led by former union minister Salman Khurshid, leader of opposition in the Punjab Assembly Pratap Bajwa, and Rajya Sabha MP Nasser Hussain, complained that the BJP has been running "smear campaigns" against them without any restraint, yet the Congress is being denied permission to run "far tamer" advertisements.
The delegation also alleged that the BJP government had issued tenders worth 1600 crores just 48 hours before the declaration of the Model Code of Conduct in the state, which they claimed was a blatant attempt to influence the outcome of the State Election Commission. They requested that these tenders be scrutinized and the offending individuals penalized.
The Congress leaders also pointed out that there are many employees who have been working in the office of the Chief Electoral Office for more than six years and are still in their positions.
They claimed that this violates the poll body's guidelines, which require officers to be changed after every three years to prevent any appearance of bias. The delegation submitted a list of all such officers and requested that the rule be enforced.
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