Mumbai, Dec 17 (PTI) Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut todaycalled for a law that would bar the prime minister and chiefministers from participating in election rallies.
In an article in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', he saidcomments were made on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for"jumping into muck", adding that the Centre had become a"factory of elections".
"There were comments made on the prime minister duringthe Gujarat polls. All this happened as the PM himself jumpedinto the muck. It should stop now. There should be a law inplace to stop the PM and CMs from participating in electionrallies," Raut said.
"The parliament is the supreme constitutional institutionin the country where new laws are made in every session. Noweverybody should show the willingness to make a law to bar thePM and CMs from holding election rallies," he said.
Taking a dig at the BJP, Raut said the government'scoffers were looted most by the Congress, but those who raiseda voice against this were in power today.
However, the loot of the government's coffers has notstopped, he commented.
"Government money and machinery is being used forelection rallies when a prime minister or a chief ministercampaigns. We will now have to demand that this money shouldbe recovered from the party, be it of Manmohan Singh orNarendra Modi," he said.
The Sena leader said when a PM or a CM goes for anelection rally, they do not go on a personal visit but havetheir supportive machinery with them.
"Modi held 40-45 rallies in Gujarat for which he usedgovernment aircraft and helicopters. Being a PM, he spentcrores of rupees of government money for election campaigning.
His predecessors did not do anything different. The Centre hasbecome a factory of elections," Raut said.
He said after Gujarat, assembly polls in Karnataka willbe announced in three months time, and in another six months,Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh will go to polls.
"Fighting polls and winning them with any possible meanshas become the only concern for the government. The only wayto stop all this is to have the Lok Sabha and Assembly pollstogether, or the PM and the CMs are kept away fromcampaigning. Or they should resign from their posts and thencampaign for their party," Raut said. PTI MM BNMSRY.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.