EC to govt: Defer cash transfer scheme in Gujarat, HP

Dissatisfied with the government’s announcement on the direct cash transfer scheme, the Election Commission has asked the government to defer its implementation in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh till the end of the assembly elections. The Election Commission has said that the Centre could have ‘avoided’ an announcement of the Direct Cash Transfer scheme that was introduced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week. The poll panel’s remarks were in response to a complaint filed by the BJP that the announcement of the scheme violates the model code of conduct. [caption id=“attachment_544652” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AFP[/caption] “The centre could have avoided announcement during the Gujarat polls keeping in mind the letter and spirit of the poll code,” the Election Commission said. Four of the 51 districts in which the cash transfer scheme was to be implemented from January 1, 2013 fall in poll-bound Gujarat. The Election Commission had sought a report from the Cabinet Secretary on Sunday alleging that the timing of the implementation of the scheme was suspect, coming as it was just days before the Gujarat polls. However the government had maintained that the decision had been announced first in March 2012 by then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee during the Budget speech. The government had in a major announcement claimed the scheme as a “game-changer”, with Finance Minister P Chidamabaram and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh personally launching the scheme from the Congress headquarters. Meanwhile reacting to the decision, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “We welcome the decision of EC, it is clear now that Congress wanted to take political advantage”.