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Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said that the advertisements by the Karnataka government are not a violation of the Election Model Code of Conduct as they "don't solicit votes."
"The Ads only highlight the achievements of the Karnataka government and do not solicit votes for any political party and hence they don't violate any Model Code of Conduct," he said responding to reporters' queries at his Sadashivanagar residence here. "The advertisements are purely about the schemes of the Karnataka government. They neither solicit votes for Congress party nor for any particular individual. How can they violate any Model Code of Conduct?" he questioned. In fact, other parties have launched a misinformation campaign against the rollout of welfare schemes by the Karnataka government, he added. "Some of the advertisements of the Karnataka government sometimes get published in editions of other states. It would have been a violation of the Model Code of Conduct had we solicited votes in favour of the Congress party," he said, adding that a reply will be sent to the notice issued by the Election Commission of India. Asked about appointments to Boards and Corporations, he said that two or three rounds of consultations are over and a final list will be sent to Delhi after a meeting. The Election Commission had on Monday issued notice to the Karnataka government for publishing advertisements about welfare schemes and achievements in several newspapers in poll-bound Telangana and said it was a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Telangana is set to witness a triangular contest between the ruling Bharat Rasthtra Samithi, Congress and the BJP in the November 30 state polls. In the last Assembly elections in 2018, the BRS, previously christened as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), won 88 of the 119 seats, hogging 47.4 per cent of the total vote share. The Congress came in a distant second with just 19 seats, while the BJP drew a blank. (ANI)
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