BJP keeps clear of Munde's poll expenses row

Rajnath Singh says it's a matter between Munde and the poll panel

Keeping clear of the controversy around BJP leader Gopinath Munde who admitted he had spent Rs 8 crore for his poll campaign in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, party president Rajnath Singh Sunday said it was a matter between him and the poll panel.

"I have not heard Munde's speech," Rajnath Singh said to queries on the controversy.

"But if he (Munde) has been given a notice by the Election Commission, he will reply to it," Rajnath Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

Munde, who is an MP from Maharashtra's Beed and the BJP's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, on June 27 said during a book launch function in Mumbai that he had spent a whopping Rs 8 crore during his 2009 Lok Sabha election.

He has been served a showcause notice by the Election Commission which asked why he should not be disqualified for "suppressing and undervaluing" his poll campaign expenditure with his public admission of having spent Rs.8 crore for it. The EC has asked Munde to explain within 20 days why action should not be initiated against him.