Bharatiya Janata Party, the principal Opposition party in Karnataka, was found allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct by serving food to a large number of party workers and supporters on the occasion of party workers’ meeting held at Gandhi Bhavan in the city on Wednesday afternoon.
Ironically, neither the BJP’s State nor the district unit had given information about the workers' meeting and the procession taken out by the party leaders, including its official candidate M. Nagaraj, former State BJP president Prahlad Joshi, MP, and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Jagdish Shettar, from Gandhi Bhavan to the D.C. office. The procession also was a violation of the model code. Former Ministers Basavaraj Bommai, C.M. Udasi and Visveshwara Heggade Kageri also participated in the meeting and procession.
The meeting and procession was organised in support of Prof. Nagaraj, who submitted his nomination papers to contest from Karnataka West Teachers’ constituency in the biennial election to the State Legislative Council.
The food was arranged in one of the two halls of the Gandhi Bhavan, while the other was used to conduct the meeting. At the end of his speech, Mr. Joshi reportedly requested the gathering to have lunch.
Additional Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Returning Officer Suresh Itnal, on learning about the violation, immediately sent an official team, which video-graphed the views of BJP workers, supporters and other members of public having lunch.
Mr. Itnal told The Hindu that a complaint would be registered against the BJP for violation of the model code with the Khade Bazaar Police Station immediately for further action.
It may be recalled here that a case of model code violation against the ruling Congress was registered with the Camp Police Station when the party was found in similar act of serving food to the workers in presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President and Home Minister G. Parameshwara and several other Ministers and legislators and MPs during electioneering to Gram Panchayats on December 20 last year.
