The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today said
it has lodged a complaint with the district election officer against the
Trinamool Congress saying it was violating the election code of conduct
by holding a public meeting in Kurseong on Tuesday.
TMC president and chief minister
Mamata Banerjee will address the meeting that is being organised by the
hill TMC unit at the Monteviot Ground in Kurseong. The venue is away
from the main area of town, but it is surrounded by residences and a
couple of schools.
The election commission has allowed
political parties the use of public address system and loudspeakers for
campaigning from April 9 to 15 only. This is because the ICSE and ISC
examinations are in progress in the hills.
GJM Study Forum member Swaraj Thapa
said they have lodged the complaint because the TMC meeting on Tuesday
would violate election norms. “How can the election commission give
permission to the TMC when campaigning has been allowed only from April
9, the day after the ISC examination gets over? The district
administration had earlier announced that permission would be granted
only if there weren’t any ICSE and ISC schools or residences near
meeting venues.”
He added, “We urge the election
commission to look into the matter and clarify on what grounds has the
Trinamool been granted permission to hold tomorrow’s meeting. Otherwise,
we want the same rules to be applicable to other political parties
too.”
The complaint against the TMC has been
filed by GJM Kurseong town president Yogendra Rai, who is also a GTA
Sabhasad. “Tomorrow’s meeting of the TMC at Monteviot is in violation of
the model code of conduct issued by the election commission. It must be
remembered that ICSE and ISC schools are having their examinations
presently,” he said.
The two English medium schools
adjacent to the Monteviot ground are Godwin School and Dawn Boarding
School, and a public meeting will surely disturb the examinees. “Besides
the two schools, there are several residences where students will be
preparing for their board examinations,” Rai said.
The ISC examination started from
February 8 and will continue till April 8, while the ICSE examination
started on February 29 and will end on March 31. There is no ICSE exam
on Tuesday, but ISC students have their Mathematics paper tomorrow. The
heads of the two schools however, said the examinees will be appearing
for their exams from another centre as their institutions are yet to
receive affiliation from the ICSE board.
Meanwhile, senior hill TMC leaders
have clarified that Tuesday’s meeting would be an indoor one and that
sound boxes would be used instead of loudspeakers. “We will begin the
programme from 2pm after the examination gets over. We believe doing so
will not disturb the examinees,” said hill TMC general secretary NB
Khawas.
When pointed out that the meeting was
being held in an open ground, he said, “The meeting will be held indoors
as the proceedings will take place in a segregated area. Moreover, we
will use sound boxes to ensure there is no disturbance in the vicinity.
Darjeeling district magistrate Anurag
Srivastava said the TMC had sought permission to hold an indoor meeting
on Tuesday. “I do not know about the complaint lodged by the GJM. But
what I know is that the TMC had requested for an indoor programme. As
such, there are no restrictions unless loudspeakers and other heavy
sound amplifiers are used,” he said and added, “Tomorrow’s meeting will
be held inside a pandal, which will be a closed and covered area, and
mikes will not be used.” (EOIC)
Post a Comment
We love to hear from you! What's on your mind?