Bhubaneswar: The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday moved State Election Commission (SEC) alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is violating the model code of conduct for ensuing panchayat polls by advertising its several schemes on local television channels.
A delegation of BJD, headed by party vice-president Surya Narayan Patra, moved SEC and submitted a memorandum in this regard. Besides, the ruling party also alleged that, officials of Indian Oil are attempting to distribute gas cylinders in many areas in the state.
“The saffron party is advertising programmes like Swachh Bharat and UJALA in local Odia TV channels which is a violation of model code of conduct issued by SEC,” Patra alleged.
Also read: Model code of conduct for panchayat polls comes into force
“We have requested the Commission to look into the matter and stop broadcasting of such advertisements,” Patra informed.
Reacting on the allegation made by BJD, BJP vice-president Samir Mohanty, said, “The advertisements are done by Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP). It has a time frame. The BJD government should write to DAVP. We don’t want to comment anything over the issue.”