Model code of conduct 'breached'

Statesman News Service

MALDA, March. 16: The Malda CPIM leader and the minister for environment and state parliamentary affairs Mr Salien Sarkar does not bother to follow model code of conduct which came into force from 13 March following notification of the Kharba Assembly by election in northern part of this district. Inviting all media persons Mr Sarkar yesterday visited the newly constructed arsenic free drinking water treatment project at Kahala in Ratua in the northern part of this district and inaugurated the plant to provide drinking water to the people with the help of the government officials of the public health engineering.Just before panchayat polls, which is scheduled to be held in May, the drinking water project was scheduled to be inaugurated by the chief minister Mr Budhhadeb Bhattacharjee on 16 March in presence of three other union ministers including Mr Pranab Mukherjee, rural development minister Mr Raghubansh Prasad Singh and information and broadcasting minister Mr Priya Ranjan Das Munshi and other state ministers including Mr Sailen Sarkar. The chief minister Mr Budhhadeb Bhattacharjee inaugurated another arsenic free water treatment plant at Beldanga in Murshidabad today but he did not come to Malda for inaugurating the plant at Kahala fearing a violation of model code of conduct. It may be noted that there are series of inauguration programmes in Malda before panchayat poll including Gaurbanga Vishwavidyalay in English Bazaar town and other big projects initiated by both the Congress and the CPIM with the help of the state government. But all have been cancelled due to notification of assembly by-poll. Due to imposition of model code of conduct, leaders are upset having failed to organise colourful programme of inauguration before panchayat poll but organisers belonging to the CPIM are adamant to campaign about tentative programmes of inauguration of various projects like university, Ratua stadium , another drinking water projects in English Bazaar and inauguration of bridge over Mahananda. Thousands of colourful leaflets have been circulated across the district silently. When the news of inauguration came to light yesterday evening, the congress leaders like Mr KN Choudhury , English Bazaar MLA and the Sabhadhipati Mr Goutam Chakraborty came down heavily talking to reporters and informed their top brasses to lodge complaint with the election commission. The desperate minister Mr Sailen Sarkar told reporters “I did not see anything wrong. People were getting water from this plant earlier. After cancellation of its inauguration programme I just came to visit the newly constructed plant and asked the officials to supply water properly in the interest of the people”. After visiting the site of Ratua stadium he also claimed “There will be no colourful inauguration programme at newly constructed Ratua stadium but Kabadi competition will take place on the opening day which is on 21 March”. Interestingly, when the minister went to the arsenic free water treatment plant there was a national flag on his car but when he came out of the plant the nation flag was removed. When the district magistrate Mr CR Das was inquired about the inauguration he said “Officially I do not have any information about inauguration”.