BJP cries foul over CM’s advisors participation in electioneering

Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday lodged a complaint to the Election Commission over the participation of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s advisors in political campaigns.

“How advisors to the CM after drawing salaries from the state government can assist him in his ongoing political campaigning,” the party asked.

Senior BJP leader and legislator Shivratan Sharma at a press conference held at party’s state headquarters Ekatma Parisar said the four advisors to the CM were given status of special secretaries in the state government and they were salaried persons as such how could they assist the CM in political activities.

In a political rally of Congress’s star campaigner Navjot Singh Sidhu, the parliamentary advisor to CM Rajesh Tiwari was seen on the dais with other party leaders, he pointed out.

Another CM’s political advisor Vinod Verma had been active on social media platforms doing propaganda for the party, Sharma alleged.

Similarly other advisors Ruchir Garg and Pradeep Sharma too were seen indulging in political activities, the BJP leader said.

“If these advisors have to do politics, they should resign from the government post and should leave the office of profit”, the BJP leader said. “The act of them is a sheer violation of service code of conduct for civil servants”, he further added.

The Congress, however, was quick to dismiss the allegations as baseless.

Congress general secretary and chairman of the party’s communication wing said “the BJP leaders were actually baffled by their imminent defeat in the ongoing polls and that was why they were leveling such allegations.”