Congress seeks Munde’s disqualification from Lok Sabha

The move follows Mr. Munde's remarks that he had spent Rs. 8 crore on his election campaign in the last general elections

The Congress today demanded the disqualification of senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde from the Lok Sabha for his remarks that he had spent Rs. 8 crore on his election campaign in the last general elections.

Party leader Sanjay Nirupam said Mr. Munde’s comments showed that he had violated laws governing election expenditure, and the Election Commission must take note of it.

The expenditure limit for the Lok Sabha election is Rs. 25 lakh and he spent a whopping Rs. 7.75 crore more than the limit, Mr. Nirupam said, demanding stern action against the BJP deputy leader in the Lok Sabha.

Mr. Nirupam, who is an MP from North Mumbai, said the EC should initiate proceedings for his disqualification.

“I will urge EC to call Mr. Munde for enquiry and take action against him,” he told reporters outside the Congress headquarters in Delhi.

Mr. Munde had made the claim at a book release function in Mumbai on June 27, as he called for State funding of elections to curb black money.

He dared the EC to take action against him and said he would not mind disqualification as the next elections were only a few months away.

Mr. Nirupam also supported the move to keep political parties out of the RTI Act purview, saying that otherwise, it would swamp parties with frivolous and unnecessary RTI queries.

“Somebody will ask why this secretary was removed or that district president was axed. These things will serve no national interest,” he said.

The party spokesperson said there were already enough checks and balances in place to regulate funding and expenditure of political parties.