The Election Commission of India (ECI) has served a notice on the Karnataka Government seeking explanation on alleged violation of model code of conduct.
The Karnataka government allegedly had issued advertisements on its welfare schemes and achievements in several newspapers published from Hyderabad when the election process is on.
The ECI asked that why disciplinary action should not be initiated and directed it to stop such advertisements with immediate effect.
In a letter addressed to the Karnataka Chief Secretary and a copy marked to chief electoral officers of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the principal secretary in the ECI Avinash Kumar has written that it was brought to the ECI's notice by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on November 25 and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on November 27 that the Karnataka Government had been publishing advertisements in several newspapers in Telangana from November 24.
The ECI found that no approval was given to any such application from Karnataka.
The act of issuing advertisements highlighting the welfare schemes and achievements of the Karnataka Government in newspapers having circulation in poll-going Telangana is in gross violation of the ECI's directions.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
