The Election Commission (EC) said that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) will come into effect from the day the premature dissolution of an Assembly in a State or a Union Territory is announced.

It will remain in force till the new government is formed. The Commission reached conclusion keeping the observations of the Supreme Court in the SR Bommai versus Union of India case, 1994 — that the caretaker government should merely carry on day-to-day work and desist from taking any major policy decisions.

The EC also considered the matter of application of the MCC in the case of premature dissolution of the Legislative Assembly where the caretaker government has been asked to carry on the administration of the State or Union Territory for the purpose of a free, fair, transparent and robust electoral process.

The Commission’s decision has been sent to the Chief Secretaries of various States and Union Territories, and the Cabinet Secretary at the Centre.

The EC’s decision assumes importance as the Telangana Assembly was prematurely dissolved recently. Its term was to end in June 2019.

The Commission has said that the MCC shall “apply on the caretaker State and Central government” in matters relating to thatparticular State.

“Consequently, neither the caretaker State Government nor the Central Government shall announce any new schemes or projects or undertake any of the activities prohibited” under the MCC, the EC said.

Other prohibitions

The Communication further states that other prohibitions such as use of official resources for any non-official purposes, and combining of official visits with electioneering work will apply on all Ministers and authorities of the caretaker State Government, the Central Government as well as the Governments of other States.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW