Code violations go unnoticed in Gulbarga

Original Report

Surprisingly , the officials, who are supposed to check the implementation of model code of conduct during polls, seem to be in slumber.

The district administration and the district election officials were liberal enough to the Congress and BJP and allowed them to violate the code of conduct while filing nominations here on Wednesday.

Congress candidate for Gulbarga LS seat Mallikarjun Kharge was accompanied by sitting MP Iqbal Ahmed Saradagi, MLAs Qamarul Islam, Babu Rao Chinchansoor and Malikayya Guttedar to submit the nomination papers. As per the specification, only five people, including the candidate, are allowed to go inside the returning officer’s chamber. But Kharge requested the Returning Officer to allow former MLA Vishwanath Patil Hebbal, who was standing outside, to come inside just for a few minutes and the officer agreed to it. With the entry of Vishwanath Patil Hebbal, the number increased to six, a violation of the code of conduct.

Meanwhile, the election officials allowed the supporters of the BJP candidate, who were more than 150 in number, inside the corridor of the Deputy Commissioner, which was hardly 50 metres away from the Returning Officer’s chamber. According to the model code of conduct, supporters of a candidate should not enter within the radius of 200 metres from the office of the Returning Officer.

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