Madras HC asks state govt to hide 'symbol' on back of mini buses

The Madras High Court today dismissed a writ petition filed by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) challenging an Election Commission directive pertaining to the symbol on the back of small buses in Chennai.

After the election dates were announced, the Election Commission had said that the symbol on government buses should be hidden. The small buses launched by the state government had a picture of four leaves painted on the sides of the bus.

Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar, in his affidavit filed through EC counsel G Rajagopalan, submitted that the commission was of the view that since the AIADMK had the symbol of 'two leaves,' the painting of leaves on small buses might cause confusion in the minds of voters.

"To ensure a level playing field for all political parties and in the interest of free and fair elections, it was decided that the painting of leaves on government buses, which had been done at government cost, should be suitably covered during the model code of conduct," said Kumar.

  However, objecting to this, the AIADMK, represented by its General Secretary J Jayalalithaa had filed a writ petition, stating that the painting was done much prior to the issue of election notification.

The court asked the transport department to cover the pictures till the elections are over.