Hoardings of various political parties have started dotting parts of the city in violation of the code of conduct, which came into force after dates for Lok Sabha elections were declared on Wednesday.
Ironically, political parties are vying to dominate the publicity space, which is evident from the number of hoardings coming up in different locations in violation of the code of conduct. Worse, the Amritsar Municipal Corporation has turned a blind eye to the violations. T
Trendy cutouts of deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal spotted at a recent rally are proof of the extent to which the politicians can go to grab the voters' attention.
In the past few days, political hoardings have come up at Goal Hatti Chowk, Lohgarh Gate, Ranjit Avenue, while graffiti can be seen on the outer wall of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) office near Hathi Gate.
The main culprits are the Congress and SAD-BJP alliance and others are likely to catch up soon.
As the election race hots up in the days to come, political hoardings and banners are likely to be found everywhere in the city, irrespective of the code of conduct.
{{/usCountry}}As the election race hots up in the days to come, political hoardings and banners are likely to be found everywhere in the city, irrespective of the code of conduct.
{{/usCountry}}Even as the MC authorities claimed that these violations would be dealt in accordance with the directives of the Punjab and Haryana high court, it has not chalked out a strategy to deal with this.
The residents feel that this is the time when the fund-starved MC can improve its financial health by generating some revenue from advertisements.
Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said the violations would be dealt with sternly. "If any violation of the code of conduct is brought to our notice, we will deal with an iron hand," he said.