Asserting that the Election Commission's order calling on all political parties to refrain from spending the exchequers money for 'publicity', will be a 'true test' indeed, national president of the newly-launched Swaraj India party Yogendra Yadav advised the Commission to come into action during the remaining four years and eleven months of the election period as well.
Welcoming the order, Yadav told ANI here that the directive should have come earlier, adding that the scope of this order should be expanded too.
"Election Commission comes into action, only during the last week of the election period. But in the remaining four years and eleven months, parties use public money to promote themselves in a shameless manner. That should also be stopped," he said.
Emphasising that political advertisements which clearly promote a party should be stopped, Yadav further said that the orders by the Supreme Court and the Election Commission should be brought together to evolve a comprehensive code of conduct, which is applied not only for six months or six weeks but for five years.
When asked if all political parties would actually adhere to the order, the former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader opined that it ideally they should have no other option as the Commission's orders should be binding.
" But it would be a very interesting test case for us to see whether Election Commission's orders can be implemented outside the period of the code of conduct," Yadav added.
Earlier, The Election Commission ordered that no political party will be allowed to use public funds and government machinery to carry out activities that amount to advertisement for it.
The Commission directed yesterday that no political party shall henceforth either use or allow the use of any public funds or public place or government machinery for carrying out any activity that will amount to advertisement for the party or propagating the election symbol allotted to the party.
The commission also clarified that any violation of the directions will be treated as violation of a lawful direction of the Commission.
The development comes following a judgement of the Delhi High Court which had in July remanded back to the poll panel a plea seeking cancellation of Bahujan Samaj Party symbol 'elephant' for alleged misuse of public funds by the erstwhile Mayawati government in installing its statues across the state.
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