Uttarakhand CM in poll code trouble

The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday issued a notice to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat for allegedly violating the poll code by pledging Rs 51 lakh for the Kurmanchal Parishad during a Holi Milan event in Dehradun on March 9 last.

Quoting media reports from Dehradun, the EC on Sunday wrote to Rawat that the commission was prima facie of the opinion that his announcement for payment of Rs 51 lakh for the Bhavan of the Kurmanchal Parishad during the Holi Milan festival violated the Model Code of Conduct that had come into effect on March 5 with the declaration of the schedule of the Lok Sabha polls.

The poll panel gave Rawat time till April 1 to explain his stand on the alleged violation.