Tuesday, September 6 2005 13:48 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: A high-level National Democratic Alliance (NDA) delegation today (Sept 6, 2005) met the Election Commission (EC) and demanded cancellation of all appointments made by Bihar Governor Buta Singh to various statutory and other bodies on Saturday (Sept 3, 2005) alleging these were done in blatant violation of the model code of conduct.

"The decision of the Governor is colourable and amounts to a direct challenge not only to the model code of conduct but the impartial authority of the Election Commission of India to hold free and fair elections," the leaders, including NDA's Chief Ministerial candidate Nitish Kumar and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) General Secretary Incharge of Bihar polls Arun Jaitley, said in their memorandum to the poll panel.

The NDA, in its memorandum, alleged that the Bihar Governor made the appointments on the same day the Election Commission announced the schedule for elections to the State Assembly and consequently the poll code came into effect.

In the three appointments to the Bihar Public Service Commission, Laxmi Devi reportedly belongs to Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and is a member of the Zila Parishad while Sudama Rai is a member of Congress, they alleged.

"Ram Karan Pal appointed to the Backward Class Commission is an ex-MLC and currently State Vice-President of RJD while Gulam Tahir has been PS to former Chief Minister Rabri Devi.

"One can understand the dominance of one minority community in the appointments to the Minority Commission. But it takes too much to swallow that the 15 Point Programme Implementation Committee should have been packed entirely with members of one minority community. The objective is obvious viz of influencing the voters of that community during the coming elections," the memorandum said.

"The political nature of the appointments and the suspicious circumstances in which they have been made is very clear. We want the Commission to take a serious view and cancel all the appointments," Jaitley told reporters emerging from the 30 minute long meeting.

Nitish Kumar said the delegation welcomed the poll schedule announced by the Commission and urged it to ensure that Central Paramilitary forces were deployed adequately in all sensitive booths to ensure free and fair polls.

"The tendency of the Administration is to deploy the forces in opposition strongholds and deploy only Home Guards in the strongholds of the ruling party," he said.