BHUBANESWAR: Even as the campaign for Bijepur by-poll has picked up momentum, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s electioneering schedule for party candidate Rita Sahu has been changed.
The Chief Minister will hit the campaign trail on February 20 and 21 instead of February 19 and 20. Naveen will devote February 20 to Barpali block while on February 21 he will campaign in Bijepur and Gaisilat blocks.
Meanwhile, the BJD on Saturday alleged that a voice message containing baseless facts about the Kunduli incident is being transmitted through certain mobile numbers which is intended to tarnish the image of the government for electoral advantage of a political party in the by-poll.In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), BJD secretary and MLA Priyadarshi Mishra demanded that immediate action should be initiated to stop transmission of the voice message and get its content examined as per provisions of electoral, cyber and criminal law besides taking action against such criminal propaganda. The memorandum alleged that the voice message claims to be that of the Kunduli gangrape victim and is violative of the model code conduct issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
“Even though the matter is at present sub-judice, the recorded voice casts aspersion on the government and blames the administration for its inaction,” the memorandum said and added, “the message makes derogatory remarks against the Director General of Police (DGP).” “We have strong reasons to believe that this is the handiwork of BJP with the ulterior motive of making electoral gain,” it added. The memorandum maintained that as per rule every campaign material including a voice message has to be approved by the ECI before it is used in electioneering.
In a separate memorandum, the BJD alleged that police is removing the hoardings, banners and flags of the party. “It is seen that soon after removal, the BJP workers are installing their hoardings, banners and flags at the same place,” it said and alleged that local officers concerned are not paying any heed to the complaints by BJD workers in this regard.The BJD requested the CEO to instruct the local officer to remove the BJP hoardings, banners and flags according to the election code of conduct rules.