Journalism of Courage
An unannounced sop by the State Government,effectively reducing bus fares to the least minimum,has become the eye of a fresh code violation controversy in Tamil Nadu.
The passengers limited stop service,express and deluxe buses were in for a surprise on Thursday when they were charged only the fare equivalent to the ordinary fares,a reduction of up to 50 per cent.
As the last official fare revision came seven years ago on December 6,2001,this single fare system,which came into existence unannounced,did not go unnoticed.
On Thursday,the office of the Chief Electoral Officer was flooded with complaints through calls and fax messages,charging that this reduction was a clear case of poll code violation by the State Government.
Speaking to reporters,CEO,Tamil Nadu,Naresh Gupta said that his office has reported it to the Election Commission,which in turn would indicate what was to be done.
There is no doubt that it is a violation of the code. We have not asked details from the State Government The EC will take cognizance of the matter, he said on Thursday.
The State Transport Minister KN Nehru was censured by the Election Commission only yesterday for distributing free gifts on March 7,when the model code of conduct was in force.
Reacting to the charges on Friday,Nehru claimed that there was no reduction as reported.
