BJP using money, material in 'unprecedented' scale: CPI-M

Claiming that BJP was using money and material in an "unprecedented" scale in its poll campaign and had exceeded Election Commission's spending limit, CPI(M) today sought to know the sourcing of funds saying such massive expenditure escaped legal scrutiny due to "a serious flaw".
"The manner in which the RSS-BJP is pumping in monetary and material resources in the current campaign to ensure the success of its prime ministerial aspirant is, indeed, unprecedented.
"According to some, it is allegedly estimated that the recently enhanced EC's limit on expenditures per candidate per constituency of Rs 70 lakh has already been far exceeded by RSS-BJP in projecting their PM aspirant alone," said senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury.

BJP's total expenditure on propaganda and its candidates nationwide was "already more than double of the EC limit... The volume of money and resources already spent are, indeed, humongous - a scale that independent India has never seen before," he said in an editorial in the latest issue of party organ 'People's Democracy'.
"That they are able to get away with such expenditures without any scrutiny is because of a serious flaw in our law. Currently, there is no limit on the expenditures incurred by a political party on its election campaign," he said.
CPI(M) has been demanding a fixed limit for expenditure incurred by a party in line with the limit fixed for a candidate.

Since there is no limit on a party's expenditure, political parties with access to lesser resources, though with greater support amongst the people, suffer due to the current rules governing the electoral process in our country, the CPI(M) leader said.
"What also merits an investigation is from where are these resources coming? These are so huge that if they are invested in building our much-needed economic infrastructure, lakhs of additional jobs can be created," Yechury said.