New Delhi: Holding that advertisements to mark the completion of four years by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government as "clear violation" of the model code of conduct, the Election Commission (EC) on October 14 asked the Centre to stop issuing them, while it directed the Ajit Jogi government in Chattisgarh not to distribute free schoolbags with his photo embossed on them.

It also gave a similar directive the governments in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Delhi and Mizoram, because it felt that advertisements at the cost of exchequer gave an undue advantage to the party in power.

"With the announcement of elections on October 6, the Model Code of Conduct came into force immediately. The display of such advertisements at the cost of public exchequer constitutes a clear violation of the code," the commission told the government.

This was because it provided an "undue advantage" to the party in power and has the effect of "influencing" the voters in favour of the party in power, it said in a communication to the cabinet secretary and secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The commission in a letter to chief secretaries of Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Delhi said no advertisements with the objective of furthering the interests of the party in power should be issued in newspapers and electronic media at the cost of exchequer in these states.

The directive by the commission came a day after Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had rejected the charge that the release of ads to mark completion of four years of NDA government was in violation of the code, saying they highlighted the achievements of the Centre and not of those states going to polls.

On the schoolbag issue in Chattisgarh, the commission said it took the decision after taking into account a representation that the Congress government in the state was distributing bags with Jogi's photograph free of cost through its Tribal Welfare Department.

In another directive, the commission directed district administration in the five states to seize official vehicles used for election campaign.

PTI