Rajasthan Assembly Elections 2023: Ahead of polls in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday accused Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of using official staff for political meetings in violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Rajasthan BJP leader Arun Chaturvedi on Thursday said that the Chief Minister while travelling to Delhi to meet Sonia Gandhi had taken his secretary in a government vehicle that was a direct violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
Gehlot allegedly took his secretary in a government vehicle
Chaturvedi, a former BJP chief in Rajasthan, pointed to Gehlot's recent travel to Delhi for a meeting with Sonia Gandhi. During this trip, Gehlot allegedly took his secretary in a government vehicle that, Chaturvedi said, was a direct violation of the Model Code of Conduct. The BJP leader also claimed that Gehlot has been using official staff for political meetings.
"Election Commission rules stipulate that ministers are not allowed to have their staff accompany them for political work," he said. Chaturvedi also highlighted multiple appointments and announcements made during the code's implementation that, he claimed, were open violations.
BJP plans to file a complaint with Election Commission
He said the BJP plans to file a complaint with the Election Commission, seeking the removal of Ashok Gehlot's photographs from promotional material of government schemes and electricity bills, guarantee cards, government leaflets and smartphones.
Polling date changed in Rajasthan
Earlier on Wednesday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) had changed the polling date for Rajasthan Assembly Election from November 23 to November 25 due to "large scale weddings".
The polling body in its notification said, "The Election Commission of India had announced the schedule for General Election to the Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan dated 9th October, 2023 along with other States wherein the date of poll for Rajasthan was fixed on 23 November, 2023 (Thursday). Subsequently, representations have been received in the Commission from various political parties, social organisations and also issues raised in various media platforms for change of date of poll considering large scale wedding/social engagement on that day which may cause inconvenience to large number of people, various logistic issues and may lead to reduced voters participation during poll."
