Congress asks EC to probe alleged misuse of funds by BJP

Accusing BJP of spending crores of rupees over campaigning for the just concluded Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, the ruling Congress today asked the Election Commission to launch a probe into the matter.
In a letter written to the state's Chief Electoral Officer, Pradesh Congress President Kishore Upadhyay charged BJP with publishing advertisements worth crores of rupees on the front pages of newspapers and buying prime time slots for the party's campaigns on private news and entertainment channels.
He urged the commission to launch a probe into the alleged misuse of money power by the BJP to "influence voters".
The Congress leader also accused the BJP of violating the Model Code of Conduct by putting up large hoardings and banners of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at about 2,000 places, including petrol pumps, across the state and publicising central government schemes through them.

The hoardings and banners were not removed or covered despite objections raised by the Congress, he said in the letter handed over to the Chief Electoral Officer by a party delegation.
Helicopters used by Chief Minister Harish Rawat were checked on various occasions but those used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah were never intercepted, he alleged.
"A probe should be launched by the commission into the instances cited by the party and action taken against the BJP for violation of the Model Code of Conduct," Upadhyay said in the letter.