A delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs on Monday met the Election Commission with a demand of a level-playing field for the Opposition parties --- necessitating Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "desist from using tax-payers' money for the BJP's election publicity" and "breaking model code of conduct" by delivering "false jumlas" so to say, and not least, putting a leash on the central agencies.
"We submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission of India for its consideration," TMC MP Dola Sen said. "We have submitted a list of demands to ensure free and fair elections … a level-playing field for all where agencies are not used to interfere in the election process by intimidating the opposition," Sen who accompanied senior leaders like Derek O'Brien said.
Referring to the "samatal bhumi or level-playing field as promised by the ECI … we have also drawn the attention of the Commission to the spending of public money … the tax-payers' money by the Prime Minister in his election publicity … that is surely not a level-playing field."
Sen a member of the Rajya Sabha also referred to a recent telephonic conversation between the Prime Minister and Krishnagar BJP candidate Amrita Roy where he was heard asking Roy to go, tell the people about his plans to return the (corruption) money seized by the Enforcement Directorate to the people.
"We referred to the Prime Minister's conversation with the BJP candidate wherein she was asked to make public his plans to distribute the seized Rs 3,000 crore by the ED among the people … but the question is whether it is not a new jumla — like the previous one where he promised putting Rs 15 lakh to all the citizens' accounts after bringing the entire black money back to India foreign banks —because the money seized by the ED is a part of the proceedings pending in the courts … further more these proceedings may take years to end … so by letting such Jumlas to get viral amounts to violation of model code of conduct which is not expected from a person as high as Prime Minister," Sen said adding such promises only mislead the people.
