Panaji, March 19 (IANS): The Goa chief secretary has been asked by election authorities here to respond to a complaint that two Officers on Special Duty in the chief minister's office were campaigning for the ruling BJP.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Keshav Chandra told reporters at a briefing Wednesday that the chief secretary was expected to file a response to the complaint filed by the Congress soon.

"We have already sent them a copy of the complaint and sought a response," Chandra said.

The complaint filed by Congress party alleges that joint secretary in the Chief Minister's Office Siddharth Kunkolienkar and Giriraj Pai Vernekar, special assistant to chief minister Manohar Parrikar, both of whose salaries were paid through the state exchequer were violating the model code of conduct by campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"They have been appointed as Officers on Special Duty (OSD) and given these designations in the CMO. They are drawing a salary from the state exchequer, which is public money. They cannot be allowed to campaign for a political party during code of conduct," claims Congress spokesperson Durgadas Kamat.