09 February 2004	Monday	17 Zilhaj 1424

NEW DELHI, Feb 8: India's new election chief on Sunday warned parties not to use public funds to entice voters ahead of parliamentary polls expected within months in the world's largest democracy.

T.S. Krishna Murthy, addressing reporters at his swearing-in as head of the three-member Election Commission, said parties needed to observe campaign rules even before the date for the polls is set.

"As far as possible, the taxpayers' money should not be used for electoral advantage," Murthy said. Political parties in India regularly splash full-page advertisements in newspapers and put up massive banners of their leaders.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's government offered a raft of indirect tax cuts and other voter-friendly incentives in an interim budget days before parliament was dissolved on Friday.

Asked about the last-minute spending bill, Murthy said: "I would like to use this opportunity to tell all political parties - those in power and those in opposition - that the spirit of the code of conduct should be observed even now."

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants elections held in April or May to take advantage of booming economic growth triggered by a bountiful monsoon. It is up to Murthy's commission to set the date for the election, in which more than 650 million voters are eligible. -AFP