New Delhi, March 10: Questions have been raised over the alleged delay in announcing the dates of Lok Sabha elections 2019 - the declaration of which imposes the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) - with the Opposition accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of giving a "long rope" to the incumbent government to conclude its spree of inaugurations.

With the polling schedule being released today at 5pm, the MCC would kick-in, preventing the governments in the states or at the Centre from inaugurating any project or unveiling any schemes till the general election ends.

Over the last 30 days, an inauguration blitz was on display, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching a total of 157 projects, including national highways, schools, colleges, hospitals, metro extensions, sewage connections, gas pipelines, power plants, and also a domestic airport in Ghaziabad.

Apart from the 157 projects unveiled between February 9 to March 9, PM Modi had inaugurated nearly 57 projects between January 8 to February 7.

On the contrast, Modi's predecessor Manmohan Singh had made no visits in the last month of his second tenure to inaugurate any new project, as per his travel itinerary sourced by NDTV. 

According to the Congress, the last-minute push by Modi is aimed at using the state machinery for electoral purposes. In the garb of public advertisement, the ruling regime is making a poll pitch with days remaining for the Lok Sabha polls, the party alleged.

"Is the Election Commission waiting for the Prime Minister’s ‘official’ travel programs to conclude before announcing dates for General Elections? Using government functions as an excuse for political rallies, flooding TV/radio and print with political ads… It seems that EC is giving the government a long rope to campaign till the last moment using public money," senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 10, 2019 04:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).