Mangaluru: According to reports from Belagavi (Belgaum), the deputy commissioner and district election officer of Belagavi have directed officials of the Food and Civil Supplies Department to mask the photographs of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies Dinesh Gundu Rao which have appeared on palm oil and salt packets distributed at PDS outlets.
They have suggested to mask them with opaque stickers. The Commissioner has taken this action to uphold the model code of conduct in force for the gram panchayat elections in the State.
The Election Commissioner was forced to take this action after receiving several complaints by some citizens that the images could influence voters. It is noted that one litre of palm oil and 1 kg of iodised salt are being distributed as part of the revised Anna Bhagya scheme launched on May 1. About 1.08 crore families with a total population of four crore benefit from the welfare initiative.
Sources also reveal that couple leaders of Bharatiya Janata party in Bengaluru have also decided that their party will file a petition with the Election commissioner on the same issue. The BJP leaders feel that this tactic by the congress government is an attempt to woo voters in the coming gram panchayat polls.