Coimbatore : Citizens Voice Coimbatore (CVC) filed a petition with the Chief Electoral Officer, Election Commission of India (ECI), New Delhi seeking action against Southern Railways stating that it had violated the model code of conduct.
Coimbatore : Citizens Voice Coimbatore (CVC) filed a petition with the Chief Electoral Officer, Election Commission of India (ECI), New Delhi seeking action against Southern Railways stating that it had violated the model code of conduct.
The petition filed stated: "We would like to bring to your kind notice that the Central Government and Ministers announced the renaming of the Chennai Central station after the announcement of the parliamentary elections in the state of Tamil Nadu. The announcers should have ensured that the renaming of the Central Station was prior to the announcement of the parliament elections in the state of Tamil Nadu. But the GM of Southern Railways renamed the Central Station after Dr. MGR only after elections were declared, which is a gross violation of the code of conduct as framed by the ECI. We request you, Sir, to order them to refrain from the renaming now and also to take immediate action on the GM of Southern Railways. It is a surprise why such a decision has taken at the fag end of their tenure or announced after the election process is complete. Why this overnight drama?"
"In addition to this, CVC brings to the notice of the General Manager of Southern Railways on the issue of reviving trains between Coimbatore and Madurai. Once a section of fans of a political party is satisfied with the renaming of Central Station in the name of Dr. MGR, the GM of Southern Railways Chennai and DRM Salem would have resumed the cancelled trains on the Madurai-Coimbatore sector to satisfy the general voters thereby violating the code of conduct.
Thirdly, we would like to bring to the notice of the GM of Southern Railways, Chennai on the issue of the double decker train to Coimbatore, and this was put on hold by the Southern Railways, on account of Karnataka General Elections. In this case, the code of conduct was strictly followed by the Railways whereas in the renaming of the Central Station, the code of conduct was thrown out. In fact, being a non-political, non-communal service organisation, we have been demanding reinstating of the Kovai-Rameswaram Express and for it to be named after APJ Abdul Kalam, who hails from Rameswaram, but it was never heard by the Railways."
"CVC submits its earnest plea before the CEO of Tamil Nadu to take stringent action against the GM of Southern Railways, Chennai for violating the code of conduct and taking different stands on a similar issues as the renaming of the Chennai Central Station and Southern District connectivity from Kovai."