EC should not become law unto itself: Shantaram

Panaji, May 23 (UNI) Taking a serious view of certain stringent decisions, including suspension of a police superintendent and relieving a DIG of police from election duties, the Congress has observed that the Election Commission should not ''become a law unto itself''.

Interacting with mediapersons here today, AICC secretary Shantaram Naik said a high-level delegation of Central leaders, including Union Minister for Science &Technology Kapil Sibal, today called on the Chief Election Commissioner in Delhi and apprised him of the situation arising out of the hard decisions of the Commission in connection with the June 2 elections to the Goa Legislative Assembly.

The Congress also protested the decision banning serving of liquor in Goa. It said trade will be affected in the tourist state.

Instead, it should have reasonable restrictions on the trade in consultation with the authorities concerned without imposing a total ban on the trade from today till the counting ends, Mr Naik said.

Another delegation headed by AICC general secretary, in charge of Goa desk, Ms Margret Alva also called on the Chief Electoral Officer of Goa Ranesh Negi to apprise him of the visit of party president Sonia Gandhi on May 26 and found out regulations applicable for her public meeting in the city, Mr Naik informed.

Decribing the promise of proposed house tax abolition in the BJP manifesto as a 'sheer falsehood', Mr Naik said no government could ''usurp'' the constitutional rights of panchayats and municipalities to collect house tax unless the ''facist'' BJP had plans to bypass the local bodies.

These local bodies should unite to protest the proposal as any government had no right to abolish house tax, he said. He, however, favoured rationalisation of the tax.

Mr Naik favoured tagging of the electronic voting machines at booths identified as sensitive, to dispel the fear among the voters.

UNI