In a political tussle over election promises, the Assam Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has issued a show-cause notice to the state Congress unit over the alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by the party’s “guarantee cards.”
The notice comes in response to a complaint filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which alleged that the Congress “guarantee cards” being distributed door-to-door were in violation of the MCC.
The CEO, in the notice issued on Monday evening, stated that a prima facie scrutiny indicates that the “guarantee cards” bear the symbol and photographs of the Congress party’s star campaigners, which appears to be a violation of the MCC guidelines.
The BJP’s complaint claimed that the “guarantee cards” promise Rs 1 lakh to every educated youth in the first year and Rs 1 lakh per year to one female member of every poor family, without disclosing the source of funds to fulfill these promises.
The CEO, in the notice, maintained that while “electoral promises are in the realm of possibility, form distribution and data collection make the design transactional and in the nature of inducement of electors,” which is a prohibited activity under the MCC.
The notice further stated that the manifesto is expected to reflect the rationale for the promises and broadly indicate the ways and means to meet the financial requirements, as the trust of the voters should be sought only on those promises that are possible to fulfill.
Concluding that the “guarantee cards” are prima facie violative of the MCC, the CEO has asked the Congress to present a written response by 2 pm on April 11, explaining why appropriate action should not be taken against the party and its leaders.
This is not the first time that a political party in Assam has been served a show-cause notice over alleged MCC violations. Last week, the CEO had issued a similar notice to the BJP over a complaint filed by the CPI(M) regarding the collection of voter data under the pretext of a socio-economic survey.
The Congress had also submitted a written complaint to the CEO’s office against the BJP’s alleged data collection activities, which the party claimed were a violation of the MCC.