A.P. permitted to hold bhoomi puja.

The Election Commission (EC) has given permission to the State government to go ahead with the ground-breaking ceremony for the new capital on June 6 and the public meeting on June 8 to mark the completion of one year of the TDP government, without violating the model code of conduct. Speculation was rife ever since the code of conduct came into force on Tuesday with the notification for MLC election that it could impact the ‘bhoomi puja’ and the public meeting. The government had written to the commission on Wednesday seeking permission to organise the events.

The commission gave permission on the condition that the Chief Minister and other Ministers should not make any election promises.

The government, in its letter to the EC, said it would abide by the model code norms and refrain from making new announcements at the public meeting, except giving a progress report on its performance.

Though government was confident that the ground-breaking ceremony would be allowed, as there were no auspicious dates after June 6 for several months, doubts persisted over the fate of the public meeting.

Hindu