Jolt To Odisha Govt, EC Seeks Clarification On Use Of BJD's 'Conch' Symbol In Govt Advertisements

Bhubaneswar, Feb 28: In a major jolt to the Odisha government, the Election Commission of India on Wednesday sought a clarification from the State government over the alleged use of the ruling BJD's conch symbol in its advertisements issued on various media and other platforms.

The Commission has sought the State government's responses in this regard by March 2 evening, sources said.

According to the sources, the Commission had received complaints that the Naveen Patnaik government has spent crores of rupees from the state exchequer in displaying and promoting the BJD's conch symbol through various advertisements in leading newspapers, TV channels, State transport buses and by way of hoardings in different cities in last two-three months.

The Commission reportedly viewed the advertisements issued by the State government being in violation of its instructions issued in October 2016.

Odisha will go to Assembly and Lok Sabha elections simultaneously, likely during April-May.

The Model Code of Conduct has not come into effect yet. However, the Election Commission's move left the Odisha government and the ruling BJD in a quandary.