Model Code of Conduct comes into effect in Telangana

In what could apply to Telangana now, the Election Commission on Thursday said the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) would come into effect immediately after premature dissolution of a state Legislative Assembly with a caretaker government deprived of all powers to make policy decisions.

“The commission has considered the matter of application of the Model Code of Conduct in the cases of premature dissolution of a Legislative Assembly, where a caretaker government has been asked to carry on the administration of that state or Union Territory for the purposes of free, fair, transparent and robust electoral process.

“On careful consideration of the matter, keeping the observation of Supreme Court in the SR Bommai and Others versus Union of India and Others (1994), that the caretaker government should merely carry on the day-to-day governance and desist from making any major policy situation decision in view,” the poll panel said in an order.

The direction has implications for Telangana, where the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) government led by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is continuing as a caretaker government after it dissolved the state assembly around nine months in advance. Accepting the decision, the state governor had dissolved the Assembly and asked the chief minister to continue in office till the elections.

The EC said that in such cases, the provisions of Part-VII of the Model Code of Conduct shall come into operation “with immediate effect” in the state concerned and will continue to be in force till the completion of the elections to constitute the new Legislative Assembly.

The poll panel in its order said the provisions of the Part-VII of Model Code of Conduct would apply on the caretaker state government as well as on the central government “in so far as matters relating to that state are concerned”.