Senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde’s confession of having spent `8 crore on his election campaign in 2009 has elicited strong reactions from other parties. The Congress and NCP lambasted Mr Munde for spending such a huge amount on his elections. They have also demanded that the Election Commission take action against him.
Speaking at a function at Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Thursday, Mr Munde publicly admitted that he had spent `8 crore on the election campaign in the last Lok Sabha elections. “I had spent `29,000 when I contested my first Assembly polls in 1980, but in the last elections I had spent `8 crore,” he said, adding that he did not care if he was disqualified by the election commission.
The maximum official limit for spending on election campaign by a candidate for Lok Sabha polls is `40 lakh.
The NCP on Saturday came down heavily on Mr Munde, saying that such extravagance didn’t suit a leader of this status. Senior NCP leader and home minister R.R. Patil said, “The Election Commission must take serious note of it and also decide whether such candidates should be allowed to contest the next elections.”
Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said it has exposed the true face of the BJP. “Munde’s testimony proves the reality of BJP as how immoral and anti-democratic they are in their ideology. It is a criminal act and requires action.”
Mr Sawant has also sought probe in the expenditure of all the BJP candidates expressing suspicion that there is a big chance that all the BJP candidates might have followed their leaders’ footsteps.