Gopinath Munde has done what no other politician has done (“ >EC notice to Munde … ,” June 30). Privately, many politicians admit that they cannot fight an election within the expenditure limit prescribed by the Election Commission. It is quite well known that most of the candidates spend much more.
State funding of elections may be a solution but that is not going to happen any time soon. The EC will increase the ceiling in election after election. Candidates who declare their assets honestly file false affidavits on the expenses they incur only because of the impracticable ceiling they are asked to adhere to.
A.R. Karthick,
Bangalore
Mr. Munde deserves praise for admitting that he spent Rs. 8 crore on his 2009 election campaign, especially because the EC has no way of finding out the actual poll expenses of candidates on its own.
J. Venkat,
Cuddalore
Mr. Munde’s admission points to the powerlessness of the EC, which depends entirely on the affidavits filed by candidates. The Income Tax department too should seek the details regarding the source of the money Mr. Munde spent on campaigning.
Mayank Prakash,
Ghaziabad
It is well known that crores of black money is spent by candidates in elections and huge wealth earned by them in white after coming to power. Unfortunately there is no mechanism to check this menace. Till such time as voters realise that exercising their vote without accepting money and inducements is their sacred responsibility, there will be no respite.
Bhanamma Aravinda Bai,
Hyderabad