The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday asked the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to verify the allegations of discrepancies in the affidavit details submitted by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union minister and BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat.
The direction comes a day after Congress lodged a complaint with the Election Commission, citing differences between the actual and declared assets in Chandrasekhar’s affidavit.
Notably, Chandrasekhar is contesting the Lok Sabha polls against sitting Congress MP and former UN diplomat Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram.
Sources told India Today TV that as part of the standard procedure, the Election Commission has instructed the CBDT to scrutinise the affidavit details submitted by Chandrasekhar thoroughly.
Under Section 125 A of the Representation of the People Act 1951, any mismatch or falsification of details in an affidavit is considered a serious offence. The law stipulates penalties, including imprisonment for a term of up to six months, a fine, or both, for concealing information in nomination papers or affidavits.
Congress and even the Left Front have alleged that the IT minister has provided false information about his financial standing in the affidavit submitted during his candidacy nomination for the current Lok Sabha elections.
“Rajeev has declared assets of only 36 Cr. The whole world knows that he is a billionaire (8000 Cr),” Kerala Congress claimed on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“There are glaring mistakes in his affidavit itself, where he has shown his shares/bonds/debentures holding as a liability (negative) and manipulated the data to show a low figure of 36 Cr. He has written two different figures of 9 Cr and 13 Cr for in two different places,” the complaint letter stated.
RAJEEV CHANDRASHEKHAR’S AFFIDAVIT
In his election affidavit filed this year, the BJP leader declared assets worth over Rs 28 crore. The total value of his movable assets stands at Rs 13,69,18,637, while his spouse possesses assets valued at Rs 12,47,00,408.
These include cash in hand, details of deposits in banks, non-banking financial companies, and cooperative societies, as well as investments in bonds, debentures, shares, units in companies/mutual funds, and other financial instruments, news agency PTI reported.
The IT minister’s movable assets included a vintage motorcycle – a 1942 Red Indian Scout – and other items valued at an estimated Rs 3.25 crore. Moreover, Chandrasekhar’s immovable assets include self-acquired property purchased at a price of Rs 5,26,42,640, with an approximate current market value of Rs 14,40,00,000.
Chandrasekhar’s total income shown in the 2022-23 Income Tax return is Rs 5,59,200, while it was Rs 680 for the year 2021-22.
Source Agencies
