The Election Commission on Friday wrote to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), justifying its order for draping of statutes of herself and her party's election symbol, the elephant, which were erected at public expense.
The Commission denied the party's charge — party general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra had written to the Commission — that its order was “unjustified and one-sided”. The order was applicable to all the statutes of living political persons and election symbols put up in public places at a cost to the government, irrespective of the parties which had unveiled them, the Commission said.
The Commission recalled its order, dated October 11, 2010, where the poll body, while hearing the complaint against the BSP seeking its de-recognition and freezing of the statutes, had said that at the time of elections, the Commission would take appropriate steps to see that such statues would not disturb the level playing field.
The Commission could not allow any party to take political advantage and campaign through such statues, it told the BSP.
The BSP, questioning the Commission's order on draping of the statutes, had alleged that the Commission had violated Article 14 of the Constitution, which provided right of equality. “Similar decisions should be taken against other parties also,” Mr. Mishra had said in his letter on Thursday to the Commission.
