Orissa ministers violate code of conduct- SEC

Bhubaneswar, Jan 23 (UNI) Orissa Finance Minister P C Ghadei and Rural Development and Industry Minister B B Harichandan have violated the code of conduct for the Panchayat polls, State Election Commission Sanjeeb Chandra Hota today said.

The SEC, however has, accepted the promise made by the two ministers not to violate the code of conduct in future, a release issued by the Commission here today said.

Mr Ghadei (BJD) and Mr Harichandan from the BJP, while addressing the 40th Foundation Day of Sambalpur University on January 4, had made certain announcements, which were in clear violation of the code of conduct imposed in the state from December 26 to February 21 for the three tier Panchayat elections, according to the sec.

The SEC, while taking cognizance of the newspaper report on the announcements made by these two ministers at the function, had issued a showcause notice to them seeking a clarification on the news paper report.

Though the two ministers clarified that the announcements were not new, the SEC observed that their announcement would influence the voters in the Panchayat elections and were in clear violation of the chapter 4 of Para 3 of the code of conduct.

The Commission has apprised the Chief Minister, the BJD President and the Orissa unit BJP President about the incident.

UNI