EC ‘canes’ Pawar for sugar sops
Ruling that the recent announcement of the Rs 850-crore sugar package by Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar as a ‘deliberate’ violation of the model code to gain ‘political mileage’ ahead of UP polls, the Election Commission on Friday reprima...
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: Ruling that the recent announcement of the Rs 850-crore sugar package by Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar as a ‘deliberate’ violation of the model code to gain ‘political mileage’ ahead of UP polls, the Election Commission on Friday reprimanded Mr Pawar for the ‘lapse’.
However, it gave the go-ahead to the Centre to implement the package stating that the proposal to seek prior permission of the EC in this regard was now a mere formality as the “intended mileage and benefit has already been derived through the media report (relating to Mr Pawar’s announcement)”.
The Commission, in a communication to the Cabinet secretary, expressed concern over the repeated violations of the model code with poll-eve announcement of sops and called for clear guidelines to be issued to all ministries and departments for seeking the EC’s prior nod before announcing any scheme or project having a bearing on the elections in progress.
Mr Pawar had, while speaking to mediapersons in Pune on March 26, announced the decision of the CCEA dated March 24 to provide a Rs 850-crore relief package to the sugar mills to facilitate exports. The minister said the Centre would bear an expenditure of Rs 1,300 per tonne for sugar to be exported by coastal states and Rs 1,400 for states away from the coast, he said.
Coming as it did days ahead of the start of polling in UP, which boasts of a powerful sugar lobby that has the potential to swing votes, Mr Pawar’s announcement was objected to by the EC which sought an explanation from the cabinet secretary and subsequently from the minister himself.
Mr Pawar in his reply to the EC said he had never intended to violate the code in and was only confirming earlier news reports on the CCEA decision regarding the package.
The EC, however, did not buy Mr Pawar’s argument and ruled on Friday that news items that appeared ahead of his announcement and the subsequent statements of the minister confirming the news reports “clearly confirm that substantive political mileage has been immediately derived through communication to the media in whatever manner..
“The Commission...is of the opinion that there has been a deliberate violation of the model code of conduct in this case and keeping in view the fact that it is the second violation of the model code by Sharad Pawar, the Commission has decided to reprimand Mr Pawar for this lapse.”
The EC also underlined the futility of the government’s seeking its permission stating that the Commission had been presented with a fait accompli as the announcement had already been made through media communication.
“Consequently, no purpose is served by the Commission in withholding permission to either announce the scheme or implement the scheme as the objective for seeking such a prior permission...is not at all valid and relevant, as the intended mileage and benefit has already been derived through the media report.”
However, it gave the go-ahead to the Centre to implement the package stating that the proposal to seek prior permission of the EC in this regard was now a mere formality as the “intended mileage and benefit has already been derived through the media report (relating to Mr Pawar’s announcement)”.
The Commission, in a communication to the Cabinet secretary, expressed concern over the repeated violations of the model code with poll-eve announcement of sops and called for clear guidelines to be issued to all ministries and departments for seeking the EC’s prior nod before announcing any scheme or project having a bearing on the elections in progress.
Mr Pawar had, while speaking to mediapersons in Pune on March 26, announced the decision of the CCEA dated March 24 to provide a Rs 850-crore relief package to the sugar mills to facilitate exports. The minister said the Centre would bear an expenditure of Rs 1,300 per tonne for sugar to be exported by coastal states and Rs 1,400 for states away from the coast, he said.
Coming as it did days ahead of the start of polling in UP, which boasts of a powerful sugar lobby that has the potential to swing votes, Mr Pawar’s announcement was objected to by the EC which sought an explanation from the cabinet secretary and subsequently from the minister himself.
Mr Pawar in his reply to the EC said he had never intended to violate the code in and was only confirming earlier news reports on the CCEA decision regarding the package.
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The EC, however, did not buy Mr Pawar’s argument and ruled on Friday that news items that appeared ahead of his announcement and the subsequent statements of the minister confirming the news reports “clearly confirm that substantive political mileage has been immediately derived through communication to the media in whatever manner..
“The Commission...is of the opinion that there has been a deliberate violation of the model code of conduct in this case and keeping in view the fact that it is the second violation of the model code by Sharad Pawar, the Commission has decided to reprimand Mr Pawar for this lapse.”
The EC also underlined the futility of the government’s seeking its permission stating that the Commission had been presented with a fait accompli as the announcement had already been made through media communication.
“Consequently, no purpose is served by the Commission in withholding permission to either announce the scheme or implement the scheme as the objective for seeking such a prior permission...is not at all valid and relevant, as the intended mileage and benefit has already been derived through the media report.”
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