Odisha State Election Commission (SEC) today gave a clean chit to state Health minister Damodar Rout over the use of red beacon during campaigning for the September 19 municipal polls.
"The minister used a private vehicle during the campaign and the red beacon atop his vehicle was not flickering. So, it cannot be termed as violation of code," Rabindranath Sahy, special secretary, SEC said while rejecting allegation of the opposition BJP and Congress.
Raising doubts over the neutrality of the SEC, the Congress said there was no need to give a clean chit in a hurry to Rout, who used the vehicle with red beacon even as it did not flicker.
The minister landed in trouble after Dhenkanal municipal election officer on Monday lodged a complaint with SEC against Rout for using red beacon during campaign. The officer also alleged that the minister misbehaved with him when he tried to apprise Rout about the poll conduct violation.
Rout had all along been maintaining that he had not used the red light though it was on top of his private vehicle.
In another allegation of model code of conduct violation by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the opposition alleged that Patnaik addressed a public meeting at the S K Academy School ground and also used Swami Vivekananda College at Jagatsinghpur as a helipad.
Disposing the matter, the SEC said, " From security point of view, the chief minister's chopper can land at the school ground."
"However, the SEC has asked the collector of Jagatsinghpur district to report whether the chief minister held any meeting with other politicians at the circuit house during his shot stay at the government bungalow," a SEC spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the ruling BJD in a hurriedly convened press conference alleged that the Congress-led UPA government had been trying to influence voters by issuing advertisements though print media and television channels.
"Issuance of advertisements by different ministries of the UPA government at the Centre is a clear violation of model code of conduct by the UPA government," alleged BJD general secretary Narendra Swain.
