Congress leader Jairam Ramesh is the party's observer in Manipur
Congress leader and the party's Manipur observer Jairam Ramesh today said he would approach the Supreme Court after the "Election Commission maintained that the payments made to banned militant groups in the state didn't constitute the violation of the model code of conduct (MCC)".
Alleging that the release of payments to the militant groups after a long hiatus "murdered" elections in 11 assembly seats in Manipur, Mr Ramesh in a tweet said the move violated the model code of conduct, or MCC.
He alleged the BJP government in Manipur released funds to militant groups even while the MCC was in force in the state and ahead of the second phase of the assembly polls.
"Shockingly ECI (Election Commission of India) held large payments to banned militant groups made on 1.1.22 & 1.3.22 by Manipur Govt do not violate Model Code of Conduct. They do & I'm petitioning Supreme Court. Payments were suddenly released during poll period after long gap. It murdered elections in 11 seats," Mr Ramesh tweeted.
The Congress leader said the Election Commission has maintained that "large payments to banned militant groups by the Manipur government does not violate the MCC".
At a press conference on Friday, Mr Ramesh the objective of the payment of Rs 15 crore on February 1 was to "influence voting" in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi, while the release of Rs 95 lakh on March 1 was to "influence voting" in Tengnoupal and Chandel districts.
"This is bribery, corruption, and violation of MCC," he had said.
The Congress MP alleged that on the other hand, one lakh state government employees have not been paid salaries for two months. "The 6,000 mid-day meal cooks have not been paid for 18 months. Pensioners have not received their retirement benefits," Mr Ramesh alleged.
Polling for the second and final phase of the Manipur election was held today.
Manipur has 60 assembly constituencies.