BJD accuses BJP of violating Model Code of Conduct, urges EC to take action

Ruling BJD on Sunday accused BJP of violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by allegedly shifting the Railway Electrification Board unit from Bhubaneswar to Bengaluru on March 13 after the announcement of the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly poll schedule.

A BJD delegation led vice-president Badri Narayan Patra submitted a memorandum to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar in this regard.

The delegation which also included party spokesperson Sasmit Patra alleged the BJP is trying to impress the voters of Karnataka through the move.

The BJD vice president said: "The Model Code of the Conduct has been in force since March 10. Unfortunately, the Central government took a decision to shift the Railway Electrification unit from Odisha to Bengaluru."

"This is a decision they should not have taken after the MCC came into force. This is a clear-cut violation of the MCC and that is what we wanted to bring to the notice of the CEO," he said.

Badri Narayan Patra demanded that this decision should not be implemented.

Asked if the move will have negative effects in the state, he said: "Naturally, it will. Also, it will affect votes in Bengaluru." He alleged that the government took the decision deliberately to influence voters in different places.

"It is the time for the Election Commission of India to act on this and ask the government to roll it back," he said.

BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said: "The violation of MCC is a matter of grave concern. We hope that EC will take note of the issue and stop it immediately."

Elections for the 147-member strong Assembly of Odisha will be conducted in four phases along with the Lok Sabha elections, beginning April 11. The counting of votes will be held on May 23. The term for Odisha Assembly ends on June 11.