MCC period: Who runs the government and what gets halted

GUWAHATI, April 12: How does the government function when the Model Code of Conduct of election is in place? Who runs the show? Officials said that the government functions in a “passive mode” and no new major policy decisions can be taken during this period.

The Model Code of Conduct is in place from the date of announcement of the election to the day of counting.

Official sources told The Assam Tribune that the routine day-to-day functions are carried out by the officials but whenever a matter requires the signature of the Chief Minister or any other Minister, files are sent to them as they are still ministers. Officially the ministers can sit in their chambers now, but hardly anyone does so.

“Technically the Chief Minister and the ministers are still holding their posts. But they were busy with the elections and they cannot take any major policy decision when the MCC is in place,” sources added.

Can ministers use their official vehicles during this period? Sources said the ministers cannot use their official vehicles for election campaign, but as the election is now over, if any minister wants to review any scheme of his or her department or attend any official meeting, they can use their vehicles.

But any minister hardly goes for such visits during this period. Some are taking rest now and some have gone for holidays after the hectic election campaign and usually no one bothers to visit any project site.

The Chief Minister is in charge till a new ministry is formed. Important files, which need his signature, are sent to him. Otherwise, the files are cleared by the Chief Secretary of the State. But since no new project can be launched, file movement has been reduced considerably since the Model Code of Conduct came into place. Implementation of the existing schemes, including the Central schemes, are going on and the concerned officers are dealing with the same.

The Chief Secretary and Director General of Police are meeting frequently to discuss the law-and-order situation and security deployments.

Giving an example, sources said that the NEET examinations will be held on May 3, just a day before counting of votes. There is requirement for security deployment for the NEET examinations but at the same time, the deployments for the counting of votes cannot be compromised. The Chief Secretary and DGP had a meeting yesterday to discuss the issue yesterday and a plan was chalked out.