New Delhi, February 23
In what may appear to be an embarrassment to the BJP, the Election Commission today turned down the Union Home Ministry’s request to allow the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, to use the Indian Air Force aircraft during electioneering for the Lok Sabha poll.
“The Commission has said existing instructions will continue”, the Deputy Election Commissioner, Mr A.N. Jha, told mediapersons when asked what decision the poll panel had taken on the Home Ministry’s request.
The Commission did not give any reason for rejecting the request. Mr Jha said the instructions were quite clear.
However, the Commission on the basis of an apex court ruling in early 1990s has permitted the Prime Minister to use an IAF aircraft for election tours under the security guidelines following the 1986 SPG Act, which was defined in “blue books” of governance.
As per the amended section of the Representation of the People’s Act, Mr Jha said the section allowed recognised registered political parties to nominate up to 40 persons and unrecognised registered political parties 20 persons whose travel expenses alone would not be included into the poll expenses of the candidate.
He said the country would witness the use of EVMs in all 543 parliamentary constituencies.
The Commission clarified that only armed forces personnel are entitled to proxy voting and not their spouses or any other government employee like staff of Indian missions abroad. Embassy employees and government staff on poll duty can exercise their franchise through the postal ballot, Mr Jha added.
