Goa polls: GPCC for lifting ban on display of posters

Panaji, May 12: The Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) today pleaded with the Chief Election Officer (CEO) Ramesh Negi here to allow all the political parties to display hoardings and banners for the June 2 elections to the state Legislative Assembly, the process for which has already begun.

''Such severe restrictions on publicity through various types of election material, conventionally allowed in the past in democratic India since independence, will not only be against the spirit of ideal electoral mechanism, but may also send wrong signal to the outside world that in India electoral freedom is restricted. This may damage our reputation in the outside world for no valid reason,'' the memorandum said.

The GPCC has also questioned Commission's order of banning display of election material and, at the same time, fixing prices of cloth, T-shirts, caps and the like, arbitrarily at exorbitant rates.

Shantaram Naik MP and Manish Tewari, both secretaries of All India Congress Committee (AICC) called on Mr Negi and presented to him the memorandum, which was addressed to Election Commission of India.

The duo said the Commission's policy should not differ from state to state and the approach to the issue from Returning Officer to Returning Officer, and DRO to DRO which, unfortunately, appears to be happening in Goa. The Commission's order dated March 9 is ambiguous and patently unreasonable, they told the CEO.

They contended that erection of hoardings and banners, that too, for a period of 20 days could not be construed as ''defacement'' under any circumstances as compared to pasting of posters or pamphlets, which may be considered as causing defacement.

Section 3 of the Goa Defacement of Public Property Act does not by any yardstick prohibit putting up of hoardings or banners, as neither they are pasted nor can be brought under the definition of ''defacing'', they averred.

The Commission's contradictory, ambiguous and confusing stand is revealed by the fact that the Collector and the DEO (South Goa), Santosh D Vaidya, vide notification dated May 7 (Ref: No.

21/26/2007/Accts) has fixed rates for banners, cloth flags, plastic flags, posters, T-shirts, caps and stickers.

The order, as per the notification, has been issued vide Election Commission of India's Order No 76/2003/JS-II dated October 30, 2003, and earlier circular No 79/29/2005/ELN dated May 17, 2005.

Banning of hoardings and banners by one order and fixing of rates of such material for counting the same in the expenditure account of the candidates by another order, has created confusion on election scenario in Goa, they contended.

Besides, the memorandum pointed out that price of cloth for banners is fixed at the rate of Rs 150 per square metre, whereas the market price is Rs 20 per sq mt, cloth flags price has been fixed at Rs 80 per sq mt whereas the market price is Rs 20 per sq mt, plastic flags price is fixed at 12/-per sq.ft. while market price is Rs 1 per sq ft, T-shirts price is fixed at Rs 150 per piece, while market price is Rs 28 per piece, caps are available in the market at Rs 6 per piece while the DEO has fixed the price of Rs 50 per piece.

UNI