Jharkhand CM asks officials to take action against BJP for violating ECI norms

    Ranchi, Oct 7 (PTI) Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday directed all deputy commissioners to lodge cases against those violating Election Commission of India norms, days after opposition BJP announced its ‘Gogo Didi’ scheme for women ahead of the assembly polls.
    The direction came after the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) alleged that the BJP was getting forms for its proposed scheme filled up by women, promising financial assistance of Rs 2,100 per month, “in violation of ECI norms that prohibit political parties to enrol voters for post-election beneficiary oriented schemes”.
"All deputy commissioners should take cognisance and ensure that rules of ECI SVEEP are strictly followed. No one in Jharkhand has the freedom to break rules of the ECI. The deputy commissioners should take strict action against the culprits and inform after filing case under relevant sections," Soren posted on X.
Countering him, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asserted that until the ECI notification comes, every political party has the right to go ahead with its programmes.
“The Election Commission’s Model Code of Conduct comes into effect from the date of the election notification. Until the issuance of such notification, every political party is within its right to carry out party programs. As long as we are not violating any rules or constitutional provisions, any interference in our activities will be deemed to be illegal,” Sarma, who is also the election co-incharge for Jharkhand, wrote on X.
BJP state president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi criticised Soren for issuing directions to the DCs, saying he "lacks constitutional knowledge and is surrounded by wrong advisors”.
Marandi said BJP's election manifesto assures about taking concrete steps towards empowering women economically and socially through the 'Gogo Didi' scheme.
"Under this scheme, Rs 2,100 per month will be transferred to the bank accounts of women, immediately after the formation of the government. For this, BJP workers are actively getting forms filled up, so that women can get the benefits of the scheme,” he said.
Marandi also alleged that the Hemant Soren government was making every effort to disrupt the saffron party’s welfare scheme.
“BJP workers are being implicated in false cases and harassed in various ways so that they back off from their mission,” he claimed.
Elections to the 81-member Jharkhand assembly are scheduled later this year.
    Soren shared on X an Election Commission notification dated May 2, 2024, which directs all political parties to cease enrolling/registering voters for post election beneficiary-oriented schemes under the guise of surveys, saying potential of quid pro quo for voting and inducements amounts to bribery/corrupt practices.
    The Jharkhand BJP had on Saturday released five key points of its manifesto for the assembly polls in Jharkhand, promising financial assistance of Rs 2,100 to women every month, five lakh jobs to youths and housing for all if the party came to power.
    The ruling JMM-led coalition provides Rs 1,000 per month to women under the Jharkhand Mukhyamantri Maiyan Samman Yojana (JMMSY).
    "The ECI has taken a serious view of activities by political parties and candidates seeking details of voters under the guise of various surveys for their proposed beneficiary schemes, as a corrupt practice of bribery under Section 123(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. It has noted that 'some political parties and candidates have been engaging in activities that blur the lines between legitimate surveys and partisan efforts to register individuals for post-election beneficiary-oriented schemes'," as per the ECI advisory.
    It also said the “act of inviting/calling upon individual electors to register for post-election benefits may create an impression of the requirement of one-to-one transactional relationship between the elector and the proposed benefit, and has the potential to generate quid-pro-quo arrangement for voting in a particular way, thereby leading to inducement.”

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)