Watch out if you are drawing more than Rs.1 lakh from the bank in a single day because the Election Commission of India is keeping a tab on all high-value transactions.
With the model code of conduct already in force for the May 5 Legislative Assembly elections, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Siddaiah, who is the District Election Officer (DEO), told presspersons in Bangalore on Wednesday that special teams had been formed to monitor such high-value transactions from the one account in a day.
A senior official of a nationalised bank said banks usually inform the Reserve Bank of India about any transaction above Rs. 10 lakh. The official said banks would comply with the Election Commission’s new directive.
Candidates’ spending
Mr. Siddaiah said the Expenditure Monitoring Committee, headed by the DEO (meaning himself) and constituting representatives from the Income Tax Department, Audit Department and Excise Department, had been formed to keep tab on the election expenditure of the candidates. “As per the regulations, the ceiling for election expenditure by the candidates is Rs. 16 lakh. We have already published a rate list. Any payment above Rs. 20,000 will have to be made through cheques. The committee will keep tab on all the expenses.”
Paid news
The Expenditure Committee will coordinate with the Media Certification Committee to monitor paid news. “The Department of Information has already given us a rate card. We will be monitoring the expenditure and verifying the same with the statements submitted by the candidates,” said Additional District Election Officer R. Vishal.
