Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar 'Violated MCC', says the Election Commission

New Delhi, April 5: Days after Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar attacked Congress over its minimum income guarantee promise (NYAY), Election Commission on Friday issued a letter stating the bureaucrat violated the Model Code of Conduct and expressed its displeasure.

Taking cognisance of the comments made by the public servant, the EC stated, "I am Directed to refer to your D.O. No VCH/1/3016/2019 dates 2nd April, 2019, on the subject cited, furnishing your comments on the reported announcement of Sh. Rahul Gandhi, INC President, regarding minimum income scheme guaranteeing to the poorest households on 25th March, 2019, in response to the Commission's letter No. 437/6/CG/ECI/LET/FUNCT/MCC/2019 dated 26th March, 2019." Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Schedule: Voting In 7 Phases From April 11 to May 19, Counting And Results On May 23; Check All Dates For General Elections.

Stating that Commission has not found the reply of Kumar to be satisfactory, the Commission expressed its displeasure and directed the Niti Aayog's Vice-Chairman to exercise caution in future.

It is to be known that all public servants are prohibited to engage in or appear to engage in any activity that disturbs or appears to disturb the level of playing field of the conduct of the election or creates doubts in the minds of stakeholders about the integrity of the electoral process. Along with this, public servants should be impartial in their conduct and public utterances.

The Lok Sabha Elections for 543 seats would take place in seven phases from April 11 to May 19, and the results would be declared on May 23.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 05, 2019 09:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).