The Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala, Teeka Ram Meena, and the ruling Communist-Marxist Party of India (CPM) have always seen differences in opinion. In a new row the CEO denied the CM permission in conducting an event stating violation of Model code of Conduct (MCC).
In a row the CEO Teeka Ram Meena denied permission to the Communist-Marxist Party of India with regard to the holding of a Student Market of Consumer Federation on Monday. The event was to be presided over by the Chief minister as well as the TDB minister Kadakampally Surendran. The CEO’s office had put out a notice in this regard mentioning that permission cannot be granted for the conducting this event as the MCC still prevailed in the state even though the elections were over.
Earlier there was controversy regarding bogus voting between the CPM and the Chief Electoral Officer the CPM mentioning that the officer was being ‘partisan’ in his approach. The CEO had asked for the disqualification of the CPM local body member NP Saleena after she was found guilty.
The State Election Commission however stated that the CEO could not disqualify an elected member. “The rule states that an elected member will be disqualified if he/she has been convicted by a court. Moreover, the SEC, suo moto, cannot take action against an elected member and the CEO is also not a designated person who can initiate such an action to recommend to the SEC to take action,” the SEC’s statement read.