Congress to lodge complaint on poll violation in Orissa

Bhubaneswar ,Feb 9 (UNI) AICC General Secretary V Narayan Swami today said his party will lodge a formal complaint with the Central Election Commission(CEC) over the Orissa State Election Commission's (SEC) 'partisan attitude' in conducting the Panchayat election.

Mr Swami told newsmen here that the SEC has not initiated any action despite several complaints of violation of code of the conduct by the ruling BJD-BJP in the state.

He alleged that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has been openly violating the code of conduct by promising people several schemes during the election campaign meetings, yet the SEC was sitting silent over the matter.

He said Mr Patnaik had used the office machinery during the election meeting and all the district officials were seen organising his election meetings in clear violation of the code of conduct.

'' Even Orissa Assembly Speaker Maheswar Mohanty was also using his office for the election purposes, yet no action was taken against them,'' he said.

Mr Swami said the Congress strongly felt that the Panchayat elections in the state would never be ''free and fair'' due to the ''partisan'' attitude of the SEC.

The Congress, he said, has decided to urge the Central Election Commission and the Union Panchayat Raj Minister to intervene into the matter and direct the SEC not to adopt 'discriminatory' attitude in holding the Panchayat elections in the state.

UNI