MYSURU: Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan has been found guilty of violating the model code of conduct in a report submitted by Mandya Zilla Panchayat CEO Divya Prabhu. The ZP CEO has submitted the report to the Mandya Deputy Commisioner, Ashwathi.
The report says that acting on a complaint filed by the Secretary of Mandya Congress Committee, who accused Ashwath of misusing his power by taking part in election-related activities in government educational institutions, a probe team visited several educational institutions and gathered evidence against the minister.
“On May 16, the minister visited Mandya Institute of Medical Science, Government Women’s College, Mandavya Group of Institutions and PES College. As per the minister’s tour programme, it was not an official visit but the Taluk Panchayat described it as interaction with voters,” the report said.
As per model code of conduct, no minister can combine official visits or tours with electioneering and cannot make use of official machinery or personnel for any poll-related work. The primary probe has found the minister guilty of violating the code of conduct, the ZP CEO said in the report.