Wary of EC, CM sticks to moral code

Mumbai, January 3: Veering around to the view that discretion is the better part of valour, the Sena-BJP government is treading so cautiousl...

Mumbai, January 3: Veering around to the view that discretion is the better part of valour, the Sena-BJP government is treading so cautiously on model code of conduct issue that government work has virtually come to a standstill in the State.

And in their bid to avoid further raps from the Election Commission, Chief Minister Manohar Joshi and Chief Secretary P Subrahmaniam have written to all the departmental heads to ensure that the code of conduct, which has come into force from January one, is not violated by any of the officials.

In a letter to all the secretaries and the subordinate staff in the Mantralaya, CM’s Principal Secretary, Arun Bongirwar, has said: “Ensure that the proposals submitted to the Chief Minister do not violate the provisions of the code of conduct. The Chief Minister will not approve those proposals which have not been certified by the Secretary of the concerned department.”. Similar instructions have been sent to the Divisional Commissioners, District Collectors and Chief Executive Officers of the Zilla Parishads.

Story continues below this ad

As per the provisions of the code, members of the State Cabinet have been restrained from convening even an official meeting in Mantralaya from January 1 till the entire election process is over and they will not combine their official visit with electioneering work.

Secondly, they will be restrained from using official vehicles either for personal or election work. In most of the municipal councils and corporations, the District Collectors have already withdrawn the vehicles of the Mayor and heads of the statutory committees.

Following a stern warning given by the Election Commission last week, the alliance government is taking all precautionary measures to ensure that the code of conduct is not violated either by the cabinet members or the bureaucrats.

“When we announced our decision to reconstruct old and dilapidated buildings in the metropolis and hiked the minimum wage of the agriculture labours, the Commission had expressed strong displeasure. Subsequently, the Commission had directed us to refrain from taking such decisions,” a senior official told The Indian Express

Story continues below this ad

.At present, top bureaucrats in Mantralaya are busy preparing the list of officials posted at their home towns. “The Commission has asked the State Government to immediately transfer such officials, particularly those connected with polling work, who have been posted at their home town,” the official said.

However, though it is the duty of the government to implement the directive, it poses a practical problem. As one official pointed out, “if we implement these orders in letter and spirit, we will have to transfer hundreds of police officials – from the rank of Constables to Assistant Commissioners of Police – from the metropolis.”

Even the Mantralaya staff, which is attached to polling duty, will also have to be shifted for the same reasons and in that event, the whole election process will be adversely affected.