Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao on Monday said that he has demanded the Election Commission to implement the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) immediately in view of the upcoming state Assembly bye-elections due in the month of December.
Speaking to media persons, Rao said, "EC should apply MCC immediately or else they should cancel the notification of the announcement of the by-polls in Karnataka. And whenever the EC renotifies for the by-polls, it should also implement MCC immediately."
Rao said that he has given a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) through the Chief Electoral Officer in Karnataka.
He further said, "We have lost faith in the Election Commission because of the way the poll body has been acting in this bye-election process; it is very clear that it is supporting the BJP."
He added that the EC is ensuring that the BJP is benefitted by its actions.
The Congress leader said that the EC has announced that the MCC will come into effect from November 11 in Karnataka. "This means that the EC is telling BJP that it can use Central and state government machinery for electoral gains," he said.
"This also means that the EC is giving a licence to the BJP to bribe voters and win the polls. Where is the free and fair election?" he asked.
( With inputs from ANI )