EC issues notice to Hubli Dharwad mayor

The Election Commission of India has issued show-cause notices to Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation Mayor and seven others asking them why action should not be initiated against them for violating the election code of conduct which is in place in the state.

Principle secretary to the Election Commission of India Tapas Kumar has issued notices to Mayor Radhabai Sapare, deputy mayor Chandrashekhar Managundi, former MLAs Chandrakant Bellad (BJP), Vinay Kulkarni (Congress) and corporators Bharati Patil, Ashok Nidavani, Prakash Godbole and Vijayanand Shetty (all BJP) threatening action against them.

The ECI, referring to the report of deputy commissioner, Dharwad, said the eight participated in the function to inaugurate the statue of Basaveshwara in Dharwad on April 8.

The ECI said the commission had announced elections to the Karnataka assembly on April 2 and the election code of conduct had come into force the same day.

Under the provisions of the code, launchingôinaugurating projects after the announcement of elections would amount to a violation of the code. ECI said the land where the statue was erected belonged to the HDMC and a sizeable government fund had been utilised for erecting the statue and developing the site.

The notice was served to all the eight last week. It may be recalled that the statue erected a few months ago remained covered and was awaiting its official inauguration.

But a function was held on April 8 and the statue was inaugurated in the presence of a few heads of Veerashaiva Mutts. The above leaders too had partitipated in the event.

Following this, HDMC Commissioner Ajay Nagabhushan suspended two zonal officers of the HDMC for not being able to prevent the inauguration of the statue on the HDMC land.

The deputy commissioner had sent a report to the chief electoral officer seeking information from him of the violation.