BJP's Odisha delegation meets EC to disqualify CM Patnaik

New Delhi [India], Jul 27 (ANI): An Odisha Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation led by party leader Sambit Patra on Thursday met the Election Commission seeking to disqualify Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as MLA over alleged irregularities in the Biju Janta Dal (BJD) election-funding. The BJP leaders have alleged that Patnaik, while contesting from the Hinjili constituency in 2014, undervalued his election expenditure in an affidavit submitted to the poll panel. "Patnaik, while he was contesting in 2014 had filed a false affidavit to the Election Commission. In the affidavit, he mentioned that he received Rs. 13,10,625 through the RTGS from the BJD as election expenditure," BJP leader Patra said. Patra, while holding the BJD's election expenditure statement, claimed that the chief minister had in fact received Rs. 16, 48, 320 not through RTGS, but through two separate checks. "The affidavit submitted says, contrary to what Patnaik says in his affidavit, that he was given through two cheques and not the RTGS, one amount of Rs. 10 lakh and a second amount of Rs. 6,04,320, both these amounting to Rs. 16,48,320," he said. He said both the affidavits, one submitted by Patnaik and other of the BJD, are both incongruous and contrary to each other. "The BJD has conveniently hidden the fact that money has been transferred through the RTGS, also this is hidden in the affidavit of the party to what Patnaik has hidden very conveniently," Patra added. Patra further alleged that this money was funded from a chit-fund scam as Patnaik received Rs. 13.10 lakh from the BJD through the same RTGS number in which MP Ramchandra Hansdah, now in jail in connection with a chit fund scam, had received. "There has been rampant corruption as far BJD's election funding is concerned, since the chit-fund investigation is on, which is being looked into by the CBI whether that has taken place in Odisha, so naturally we allege that it is a chit fund money which has been diverted for the 2014eletions," he said. Patra said the Election Commission was "very positive" in receiving their prayer. "They said, in due course of time they would be looking into the details of the issue and would investigate as to why these discrepancies are present thereafter they would get back to us," he added. (ANI)