02-25-2008, 11:09 PM
<b>Cash in hotel room, panel glare on Cong</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Alva in Shillong. Telegraph pictureÂ
Shillong, Feb. 24: <b>Election Commission observers found Rs 24 lakh on Margaret Alva and two other Congress officials in a hotel room here last night,</b> bringing the partyâs spending under the scanner ahead of the Assembly polls.
The poll officials, who had gone to Hotel Pinewood on a complaint, questioned the three Congress leaders but did not seize the money after being told the sum was meant for candidates and VIP visits.
Yet, the questioning of a leader of Alvaâs stature in such a case would be an embarrassment for the party ahead of the March 3 polls.
Alva, the All India Congress Committee general secretary in charge of Meghalaya, and her colleagues, both AICC secretaries, told the poll officials they had Rs 23.8 lakh with them.
Of this, <b>Rs 20 lakh was to be divided among four candidates </b>(the maximum a contestant can spend in Meghalaya is Rs 5 lakh), and the rest spent on visits by leaders such as Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.
Last nightâs events prompted returning officer B. Dhar, who is the East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner, to order an inquiry into the Congressâs expenditures.
It revealed that Alva had brought Rs 3.35 crore from Delhi. Of this, the 60 candidates were given Rs 5 lakh each and another Rs 11 lakh had been set aside for Soniaâs visit.
The remaining Rs 24 lakh, too, would be accounted for, Congress leaders have assured poll officials. âNot a single rupee of election expenditure can go unaccounted for,â Dhar said.
Alva later told a news conference that the complaint about the money had been lodged by political rivals. âThey are frustrated over the large turnout during the rallies of Sonia at Tura and Jowai.â
Election officials refused to reveal who the complainant was.
The poll observers for East Khasi Hills had gone to the room of one of the AICC secretaries, Pravin Davar, and said they wanted to verify how much money he was carrying. Alva and the other secretary, who is in charge of accounts, were in the room.
<b>State election officials termed the matter sensitive and said that whoever violated the code of conduct would be punished.</b>
The BJP member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh, K. Rijiju, said his party would complain to the poll panel in Delhi about the Congressâs use of âmoney powerâ.
Nationalist Congress Party state president W.R. Kharlukhi said his party would meet soon to work out its strategy on the controversy.
The Congress today lodged a complaint against police for pulling down party flags and banners which, Alva said, had been put up with permission from the house owners
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OUR CORRESPONDENT
Alva in Shillong. Telegraph pictureÂ
Shillong, Feb. 24: <b>Election Commission observers found Rs 24 lakh on Margaret Alva and two other Congress officials in a hotel room here last night,</b> bringing the partyâs spending under the scanner ahead of the Assembly polls.
The poll officials, who had gone to Hotel Pinewood on a complaint, questioned the three Congress leaders but did not seize the money after being told the sum was meant for candidates and VIP visits.
Yet, the questioning of a leader of Alvaâs stature in such a case would be an embarrassment for the party ahead of the March 3 polls.
Alva, the All India Congress Committee general secretary in charge of Meghalaya, and her colleagues, both AICC secretaries, told the poll officials they had Rs 23.8 lakh with them.
Of this, <b>Rs 20 lakh was to be divided among four candidates </b>(the maximum a contestant can spend in Meghalaya is Rs 5 lakh), and the rest spent on visits by leaders such as Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.
Last nightâs events prompted returning officer B. Dhar, who is the East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner, to order an inquiry into the Congressâs expenditures.
It revealed that Alva had brought Rs 3.35 crore from Delhi. Of this, the 60 candidates were given Rs 5 lakh each and another Rs 11 lakh had been set aside for Soniaâs visit.
The remaining Rs 24 lakh, too, would be accounted for, Congress leaders have assured poll officials. âNot a single rupee of election expenditure can go unaccounted for,â Dhar said.
Alva later told a news conference that the complaint about the money had been lodged by political rivals. âThey are frustrated over the large turnout during the rallies of Sonia at Tura and Jowai.â
Election officials refused to reveal who the complainant was.
The poll observers for East Khasi Hills had gone to the room of one of the AICC secretaries, Pravin Davar, and said they wanted to verify how much money he was carrying. Alva and the other secretary, who is in charge of accounts, were in the room.
<b>State election officials termed the matter sensitive and said that whoever violated the code of conduct would be punished.</b>
The BJP member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh, K. Rijiju, said his party would complain to the poll panel in Delhi about the Congressâs use of âmoney powerâ.
Nationalist Congress Party state president W.R. Kharlukhi said his party would meet soon to work out its strategy on the controversy.
The Congress today lodged a complaint against police for pulling down party flags and banners which, Alva said, had been put up with permission from the house owners
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