BHUBANESWAR: Even as the Congress grapples with a Rs 1,800 crore demand notice from the Income Tax (IT) department, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president’s letter to all the aspirants shortlisted for the ensuing Assembly election seeking a cheque of Rs 50,000 in favour of the party, has created a buzz in political circles here.
The letter from PCC chief Sarat Pattanayak also comes at a time when the party is desperate to improve its performance in the state amidst shortage of funds and scarcity of election materials.
Sources said the state leadership of Congress which is carrying out candidate selection exercise at Puri met the shortlisted aspirants from different constituencies and sought a cheque for Rs 50,000 from each of them. The sum was apparently being asked as a security fund for election material to be supplied to candidates during campaigning. Several aspirants are reported to have already deposited cheques for the stated amount.
While the decision was resented by a majority of aspirants, the state leadership defended the move. OPCC spoesperson Manoranjan Das said it was being demanded so that there is smooth flow of election materials during campaigning. “Besides, it will also help keep away non-serious aspirants,” he said.
During the visit of national leaders, he said, candidates complained that there was no campaign material made available to them. The deposit money will be used for that purpose, he said and added the party will supply campaign materials to the candidates from its own fund too. “The cheques will be returned to aspirants who do not get tickets after candidates are finalised,” he said.
Senior Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati justified the decision stating that Congress candidates will have to make certain sacrifices for the party. “Nobody is going to run away with the money. The cheques are being accepted officially and there is nothing to hide. As the party does not have enough funds, candidates will have to make some sacrifice,” he added.
The state unit’s decision comes as the grand old party is at the receiving end of alleged IT norms violations. The national party’s bank accounts were frozen by the IT department over alleged income tax default and it was slapped a notice to pay Rs 130 crore. It later complained that Rs 51 crore was recovered from its bank accounts after the Delhi High Court denied party’s appeal against the IT notice.