VISITS OF MINISTERS AND MISUSE OF OFFICIAL VEHICLES/MACHINERY

General Elections - Tours of Ministers.

Election Commission's letter No. 437/6/96/PLN-III/,Dated : 17 January, 1996 to addressed to the Chief Secretary (All States & Union Territories) Repeat The Chief Electoral Officers (All States & Union Territories)
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Subject : General Elections - Tours of Ministers.

I am directed to state that the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India vide their Circular No.10/17/89-M & G, dated November 1, 1989 have reproduced the summary of their instructions on the tour of Ministers in connection with the election campaign. These instructions inter alia lay down some specific formalities to be observed separately for official and private tours of the Ministers of Government of India during the period of electioneering particularly in the context of the fact that such tours generally overlap. A copy of the abovementioned circular of the Ministry of Home Affairs dated November 1,1989 is enclosed at Annexure I.

2. The Commission has been keenly watching the observance of the aforesaid instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs by the Ministers both of Central Government and of the Government of State in which elections are held, as well as some other neighboring and other States whose Ministers pay visits to the States having elections during the period of electioneering. The Commission is constrained to observe that not only the spirit and letter of the aforesaid instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs are vague, equivocal and permissive in nature, they are flouted with impunity and misused with flagrant disregard to the image of impartiality which persons in high public office must cultivate and preserve during the period of election in order to maintain the purity of the election process and insulate the free right of franchise to be exercised by the voters from the manipulative tactics of the privileged ruling party both at Centre and in the State Governments.

3. During the elections superintended by the Commission in recent years the Commission has been at pains to observe that the Ministers in their capacity as Members of the ruling party at the Centre and in some States misused the government owned machinery including guest houses, and such like official infrastructures for the ostensible purpose of official visits for monitoring Government programmes with the covert intention of participating in the election campaign of their parties. Such Ministers are understandably accompanied, on the above described "official" visits, by functionaries of their political parties. No departmental officials are reported to be accompanying the Ministers on which visits and meetings as a result of which even semblance of an official visit is not maintained.

4. The Commission also observes with serious objection that local officers of the district administration and State Government who have also to perform statutory and other functions related to the conduct of elections are perforce made to attend on such Ministers in the name of administrative and security arrangements which further casts a suspicion on the much needed independence an impartiality of the election related officers.

5. In the above circumstances, the Commission in exercise of the plenary powers vested in it by virtue of Article 324 of the Constitution and all other powers enabling it in this behalf, has decided to issue its own directions in the interest of fair and free poll.

6. These instructions of the Commission do not in any way over-ride, modify or are affected by the instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India No. 10/17/89-M&G dated 1st November, 1989 referred to above. The Commission directs in supersession of its earlier instructions, as follows:-

6.1 Henceforth no Minister either of Central or State Government shall undertake an official visit of any constituency from which elections have been announced by the Commission during the period commencing with the announcement of the elections upto the end of the election process.

6.2 The Commission also directs that no Minister will summon any election related officer of the constituency or the State in which any elections have been announced, to a place or office or guest house outside the aforesaid constituency for any official discussions during the period of elections commencing with the announcement of the elections from such constituency and ending with the completion of election process.

6.3 The only exception to these instructions will be when a Minister, in his capacity as incharge of the concerned department, or a Chief Minister undertakes an official visit to a constituency, or summons any election related officers of this constituency to a place outside the constituency, in connection with failure of law and order or a natural calamity or any such emergency which requires personal presence of such Ministers/Chief Ministers for the specific purpose of supervising review/salvage/relief and such like purpose.

7. It is clarified that the Ministers are entitled to use their official vehicles in there headquarters from their place of residence to their office for official work provided that such commuting is not combined with any electioneering or any political activity.

8. Any violation of these instructions will be viewed as gross infringement not only of the Model code of Conduct but also of the authority of the Commission to promulgate such directions as it considers necessary to ensure peaceful, fair and free poll reflective of the true choice of the people, and will be visited with grave consequences as considered appropriate by the Commission on the merits of the specific circumstances.



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