Congress raises issue of Shah's 'false' affidavit

The Congress on Monday demanded action against BJP President Amit Shah for allegedly furnishing false affidavit regarding his assets to the Election Commission (EC) in his nomination papers.

Addressing a press conference here, Congress leader Manish Tewari said that Shah had undervalued his assets in his nomination papers and demanded action against him.

"According to the Gujarat government's land market value rates, the market value of plot number 510 - owned by Amit Shah - is around Rs 66.55 lakh. But he has declared its value as Rs 25 lakh. This becomes extremely significant if you take the Representation of Peoples Act (R.P. Act) into account," Tewari said.

He pointed out that as per the R.P. Act, 1951, whoever gives false information or conceals any information in his nomination paper, may be punished with "an imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with a fine or both".

"We would want the Election Commission to take cognizance of it and direct the Returning Officer of the Gandhi Nagar Parliamentary constituency accordingly," he said.

He said that as per Shah's affidavit, between 2013 and 2018, the assets held by Shah's wife "have grown almost 16 times" and added that earlier his son's fortunes had seen a "dramatic escalation after the NDA-BJP government came to power".

"Therefore, it is very apparent that the 'achhe din' (good days) came only for the BJP leaders," Tewari said.

--IANS

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