Saturday, 29 June 2013

BJP leader Munde claims to have spent more than he owns
~~By Krishna Kumar
It's probably one of the worst kept secrets, and has been outed by none other than BJP leader Gopinath Munde.

Munde, who was speaking at the unveiling of RSS ideologue Vinay Sahasrabuddhe's book on Thursday, made the rather candid disclosure that he had spent Rs. 8 crore for his election campaign during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

The Election Commission has set the maximum limit at `25 lakh. Munde said: "I spent Rs. 29,000 when I contested my first assembly polls in 1980. But had to spend Rs. 8 crore for my last (2009 Lok Sabha) election."

He further added: " There are no Election Commission (officials here). But even if they were, I don't mind, because the elections are to be held any way within six months," said the BJP general secretary.

What was surprising was that while Munde had declared assets of Rs. 6.22 crore during the 2009 election, he now claims to have spent RS. 8 crore on election campaign.

It can only mean that the BJP leader had lied about his assets in the run-up to the 2009 elections. "How can a man spend `8 crore when his total assets was Rs. 6.22 crore.

It is clear that Munde not just lied about the money he spent in the elections but also lied about his total assets in his affidavit," said RTI activist Anil Galgali.

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