EC threatens to ground Cong again, now over Capt’s use of chopper

The Congress had just about replied to the Election Commission’s notice to party chief Sonia Gandhi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Aji...

The Congress had just about replied to the Election Commission’s notice to party chief Sonia Gandhi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi for misuse of state aircraft that the EC fired another salvo at it.

The EC’s second showcause notice threatens to derecognise the 117-year-old party for the misuse of the Punjab government’s aircraft by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh while campaigning in Madhya Pradesh.

	EC to challenge order on Chhattisgarh transfers

			NEW DELHI: The EC is likely to move the Chhattisgarh High Court at Bilaspur on Thursday, challenging the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order, which quashed its October 29 directive on transferring the district collectors of Jashpur and Bastar. A division bench of CAT at Jabalpur on Tuesday held that the EC order was ‘‘not only illegal, improper but against all the settled tenets of law’’ and said it did not find anything ‘‘prejudicial on part of collectors to have violated the model code of conduct’’. (ENS)

‘‘The party has been given a week’s time to reply to the showcause notice,’’ EC sources said. The EC acted on complaints from political parties and poll officials that Amarinder used the state-owned aircraft for campaigning for three days from November 15 — in violation of model code of conduct.

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‘‘The Indian National Congress, which is a recognised national party, is once again called upon to show cause, within a period of seven days, as to why its recognition as a national party may not be suspended or withdrawn for violation of the model code of conduct for ensuring the conduct of free and fair elections,’’ the EC letter to the Congress reportedly said.

As far as the Chhattisgarh case is concerned, the EC is yet to take a final decision on the two-part reply from the Congress headquarters and Jogi. ‘‘These cases have been clubbed together and whatever decision is taken will be delivered on the party and not on individual leaders,’’ EC sources said.