New Delhi: Former bureaucrat E.A.S. Sarma has written to the Election Commission in the light of the poll body giving permission to the Narendra Modi government to hike wage levels under the rural job scheme, noting that it is necessary for the commission to impose restrictions on the government regarding efforts to publicise it.
Today, March 21, the Election Commission gave the Ministry of Rural Development the go-ahead to notify revised wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for the next financial year, effective from April 1, Indian Express has reported.
Sarma, who had been secretary in the Union government, wrote that when a similar clearance was given on March 28, 2019 – a time when the model code of conduct was in force – the EC had stipulated that:
“(i) no publicity be given by the government through the media,
“(ii) no political functionaries shall refer to it, and
(iii) restrictions apply to both the Centre and the States.”
Sarma wrote, “I am sure that the Commission’s latest clearance stipulated similar conditions. If not, it is necessary for the Commission to impose such restrictions.”
Sarma’s letter is addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
However, Sarma notes that news reports are evidence of the fact that the “latest NREGA wage revision is all over the press.”
“Apparently, the concerned Ministry has deliberately or otherwise given out the details to the media in violation of the MCC,” he added, urging the Commission to investigate this urgently and take exemplary action, if necessary.
“Also, kindly impose restrictions on political functionaries as was done in 2019 and prohibit political functionaries from referring to the wage hike or parties to put up posters with political functionaries’ pictures,” Sarma added.
