Dehradun: With the Election Commission's nod to the Combined Commanders' Conference being held at the IMA here in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pradesh BJP on Saturday said it was a moral defeat of the Congress which had tried to politicise the event by raising objections to it.
Congress had approached the EC recently seeking postponement of the event till the conclusion of the poll process on the plea that the platform could be used for influencing voters in the poll-bound state in violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
However, in a communication to the defence ministry yesterday, the EC said it had no objection to the event being held despite the model code of conduct in force.
It had only asked the dignitaries attending the event to ensure that the event is not combined with a public meeting, no interaction with the media is held nor a press release is issued.
Pradesh BJP media incharge Devendra Bhasin said the EC's go-ahead to the event was Congress's moral defeat.
"An event focused purely on strategic matters was unnecessarily politicised by the Congress. It reflects the party's narrow-minded approach," he said.
As Chief minister Harish Rawat raised the issue at a press conference in Delhi it can be said the Congress high command was also "involved in the conspiracy because it was afraid of yet another visit by Prime Minister whose rally in Dehradun last month was a big success," Bhasin said.
