Congress draws flak for violating MCC in Mancherial during Telangana MLC polls

From local MLA inaugurating a crematorium a day before voting to private school staff caught distributing cash to teachers, the ruling party has been accused of violating the Model Code of Conduct during the recent elections

Mancherial: The Congress drew flak for openly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) imposed in view of elections to the Medak-Karimnagar-Nizamabad-Adilabad MLC teachers and graduates’ constituency held on Thursday.

Local MLA K Premsagar Rao on Wednesday inaugurated a crematorium, Maha Prasthanam, set up on a sprawling four-acre land on the banks of the Godavari river in Mancherial town at an estimated cost of Rs 11 crore, while the MCC was in force, raising eyebrows. He and his wife Surekha performed special prayers to mark the inaugural ceremony.

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The legislator was under scanner for not using photographs of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Ministers in flex posters displayed at the venue and other parts of the town. Certain leaders of the Congress criticised the MLA for not following protocol. People wondered as to how the inauguration of the development work would not attract the MCC. They found fault with election officials for not taking action.

Similarly, staffers of a private school were caught while distributing cash of Rs 1,000 to each teacher in the Naspur mandal centre in support of a candidate of the Congress on Wednesday night. Videos of the incident went viral on social media. However, neither a case was registered against the staffers, nor action was taken against them so far. The officials reportedly succumbed to pressure exerted by the Congress.

Meanwhile, Congress activists barged into a polling station at Theegalpahad in Naspur mandal centre during the elections on Thursday, violating the MCC. They carried out publicity inside the polling station as alleged by the BJP. However, the district mechanism did not respond to the allegations.