Parrikar called upon by ECI to explain 'bribery' remark

Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has been called upon by the Election Commission of India to submit explanation of the remarks he made while campaigning for the upcoming assembly polls in Goa.

In the video, that was presented as evidence against the Defence Minister, he was heard saying, while addressing a rally in Chimble, "if someone takes out a rally tomorrow and you take Rs. 500-600 to go with him, there is nothing wrong in that. But make sure, you vote only for the lotus (the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) symbol)."

Parrikar, however, reportedly shunned the accusation of violating model code of conduct.

Goa Forward Party had filed a complaint with state Chief Electoral Office, claiming Parrikar violated the model code of conduct by making such statement, saying that if action was taken against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal, who made a similar statement a few days back, Parrikar should also not be spared.

In a similar incident, Kejriwal had said, "If Congress or BJP candidates offer money, do not refuse it. But when it comes to voting, press the button against the name of the AAP candidate."

The AAP leader, in a series of tweets, later demanded action to be taken against Parrikar.

"Will EC dare take action against Manohar Parrikar? I urge PMO to allow EC to act against Parrikar," he wrote.

Goa goes to assembly polls on February 4.