Election Commission doesn't act on somebody's advice: Mohsina Kidwai

Barabanki - Refuting the allegations of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati that the Election Commission was acting at the behest of Congress party, senior party leader Mohsina Kidwai has said it was an independent body and it doesn't act on somebody's advice.
 
"The Election Commission is an independent body. It doesn't act on somebody's advice. It is an independent body and takes independent decisions," Kidwai told reporters here on Sunday.
 
Earlier, Mayawati has said the Election Commission's order to cover statues of the Bahujan Samaj Party''s poll symbol ''elephant'' and those of her own was ''one-sided'' and biased.
 
"For the first time in the country, only in Uttar Pradesh a one sided decision has been taken by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to cloak the structures of elephants (symbol of the BSP) ahead of polls," she said.
 
Mayawati further said that the Election Commission should also take decision of cloaking statues erected by the ruling Congress party and regional Samajwadi party (SP) in Chandigarh and other states.
 
"The ECI move has caused great discomfort to the party and its activists. Our party believes that if a person''s statue is created before or after his demise regardless of whether its funding is private or by government; the effect of the statues remain alike during the polls," she said.
 
"The BSP would never forgive the Congress party and Samajwadi party for the aggressive campaign and support lent to cloaking of statues of late Kanshi Ram and me," she added.
 
Ahead of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Election Commission decided to cover the statues of Chief Minister Mayawati and her party symbol, the 'elephant', erected at parks and other public places across the state in recent years.
 
Polls in Uttar Pradesh are to be conducted in seven phases between February 8 and March 3. The counting of votes would take place on March 6.
 
Uttar Pradesh will elect a new 403-member state assembly in March, and the poll results are expected to broadly indicate trends for 2014 general elections.