The direction of the EC to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to probe the alleged expenditure violation by the Trinamul Congress in the Assembly elections has pushed the party onto the backfoot ahead of the remaining three phases of the six-phase polls.
A day after the EC’s missive, a high-profile delegation of the party led by Union minister of state for urban development Saugata Roy met the full bench of the EC and complained that the information “leakage” of the draft of `1.33 crores has caused damage to the reputation of their party chief Mamata Banerjee and the party itself.
Asked on the complaint of state housing minister Gautam Deb against the Trinamul Congress for using black money, Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi said, “We are looking into the complaint and conducting an inquiry. While an explanation has been sought from the Trinamul Congress, the RBI will send us its report on the two banks on Friday. Let us see what result comes out and then we can comment on the matter.” He added, “This is the first of its kind problem that we have come across.”
Earlier Mr Roy, after a 45-minute-long meeting with the EC, said: “The image of our highest leader Mamata Banerjee and the party has been maligned following the leakage of the draft in the media after the CPI(M) brought such allegations to tarnish her reputation.”
Mr Roy added that they had told the EC that knowing the guidelines of the RBI was not the task of the party.
“What we are guided by are the model code of conduct of the Election Commission and Representation of the People Act. It is normally not even the task of the EC to look into the guidelines of the RBI,” he explained.