Centre's DA hike for staff not a code violation: CEC

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Chennai, Mar 29 (UNI) Responding to AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's charge that the Centre's announcement of DA hike to its employees violated the Model Code of Conduct, Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon today said the issue stood on an 'entirely different footing.' Addressing a press meet here, he said the Code was applicable only to states where elections were to be held. The code would be applied to the Centre only with regard to matters relating to these states.

The DA hike announced by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Parliament was a national issue, he said, adding it was based on the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission. It was being granted every six months on a fixed date since 1996, he pointed out.

The hike for Central Government staff was based on an accepted formula linked to increase or decrease in Consumer Price Index.

Mr Tandon said the EC had also cleared Tamil Nadu's proposal to merge 50 per cent DA with basic pay for its employees as it had already been announced broadly on the pattern followed by the Centre.

Referring to Ms Jayalalithaa's charge that the EC had halted several ongoing programmes, including distribution of relief in tsunami and flood-affected areas, he clarified that the grant of relief on existing scale to beneficiaries, who had been identified prior to announcement of election dates on March 1, could continue.

However, no new beneficiaries could now be identified and added.

The EC had also allowed continuance of infrastructure work in tsunami and flood-hit areas like drinking water supply, sanitation and road laying, sanctioned before March 1, he added.

On the implementation of the state's Farmers Social Security Scheme, Mr Tandon said the scope of the scheme should not be enlarged. There was no bar on assistance to beneficiaries already identified. He said the Commission had also asked the Government to suspend distribution of free dhoties and sarees till the elections were over. No free material that could influence voters should be distributed by political parties or by the Government, he stressed.

Stating that political parties had raised the issue of ban on wall writing, he said the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Open Places (Prevention) of Disfigurement Act, 1959, which was in force in the state, prohibited disfigurement of places open to public view in Municipalities and Municipal Corporations.

However, the provisions were not applicable to areas outside Municipal Corporations and Municipalities and so wall writing on private buildings was permissible with their consent in such areas.

The EC had also agreed to permit festoons, serial lights, party flags and banners, provided necessary permission was obtained by the political parties and expenditure incurred was accounted for.

UNI

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