GUWAHATI, May 1 � Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) violated the model code of conduct by launching �false propaganda� against the Congress after the scheduled time for campaigning for the last phase of the polls on April 24 ended.
Gogoi wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) saying that in the interest of holding free and fair polls, the Election Commission should take effective steps to stop such practices.
In his letter, Gogoi said that the scheduled time for campaigning for the last phase of polls in Assam ended at 5 pm on April 22, but the BJP
published an advertisement on April 23 with �false propaganda� against the Congress, which not only affected the Congress but also himself. He said that as the BJP launched such propaganda after the campaigning for the election ended, he did not get any chance to respond to it. �I sought the permission of the EC to hold a press conference to respond to the allegations launched by the BJP. But I was denied permission to do so and the BJP got undue advantage in the polls,� he added.
The Chief Minister said that in the interest of free and fair polls, the EC took steps for preventing distribution of money and liquor. At the same time, the EC should prevent launching of false propaganda by any political party to mislead the voters in the interest of holding fair elections.
