Nilgiris plot: Poll officer knocks at TN Chief Electoral Officer's door
NILGIRIS: : An Assistant Expenditure Observer (AEO) in the Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituency has written to the Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu alleging that the Returning Officer demanded he reduce the expenditure recorded as spent by DMK candidate A Raja to match the candidate’s accounts.
P Saravanan, the AEO, claimed the shadow observation register (SOR) maintained by him showed a difference in expenditure of several lakhs of rupees. The RO M Aruna, also the Nilgiris collector, refuted the allegations, pointing out that Saravanan is only one of six AEOs monitoring candidate expenditure from different locations.
“I didn’t ask him to record a lower expenditure for the DMK candidate. As instructed by observers, I checked expenditure reports of all candidates. I did pull up this AEO for errors in the record,” she told TNIE.
‘Discrepancy in both candidates’ accounts’
As per the election expenditure report of A Raja, there is a difference of Rs 41,00,649 between the candidate’s expenditure register, which showed expenses of Rs 13,44,012 and the SOR which showed expenses of Rs 54,44,661 till the date of inspection on April 8.
The report also stated that the candidate disagreed with the expenditure mentioned in the SOR as cost of flags, pamphlets, mike sets and sought for the amount to be determined judiciously. Incidentally, there is a difference of Rs 12,78,528 between the expenditure register of BJP candidate L Murugan, which showed expenses of Rs 7,66,400 and the SOR which showed expenses of Rs 20,44,928. The maximum expenditure limit set by the Election Commission of India for each Lok Sabha candidate is Rs 95 lakh.
Saravanan, in his letter to CEO Satyabrata Sahoo, dated April 10, alleged that the expenditure recorded in the SOR differed from the book of accounts of Raja. He accused the RO of “repeatedly harassing him” to get the amount recorded in the SOR reduced and “personally looking into each and every expenditure of that particular candidate”.
Accusing the RO of acting as candidate’s mouthpiece, he claimed that for every day since the first inspection on April 8 she had compelled him to find ways to alter the candidate’s expenditure amount in the SOR. Saravanan, in his letter, wrote that in a “higher order of misuse of her power”, on April 9 “all the records of that candidate were called up to her camp office and the SOR (the heart and soul of the election expenditure watching) was forcefully received from me and photocopied and further she warned me to act under her control. Further, she intimidated that I would be killed if any adverse things happened to that candidate because of the expenditure booking.”
Claiming that his rights as AEO were at stake to ensure free and fair election and that he is “encountering all sorts of troubles through the Returning Officer of The Nilgiris for not supporting her favouritism towards that party candidate,” Saravanan requested Election Commission’s urgent intervention. Sahoo, meanwhile, told TNIE that his office had taken note of the issue based on reports in the media. “After receiving reports of concerned officials, further steps will follow,” Sahoo said.