In the dock for claiming to have spent around Rs eight crore in the last general election, BJP's deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde today told the Election Commission that his remarks were only "rhetoric and nothing more".
Replying to the EC's showcause notice for disqualification over his remarks made at a function in Maharashtra, Munde said, "My exclamation that Rs 8 crore was spent in the last election has to be read and heard, as a figure of speech - a rhetoric and nothing more."
Munde denied having said that he spent Rs 8 crore in his election, much more than the prescribed limit, and said the remarks made at a book release function were with reference to expenses incurred by his party in Maharashtra in all Parliamentary constituencies during polls.
The BJP leader claimed that it was this huge expense that requires to be curtailed and demanded that the same be expended by the state in order to curb the expenses and the likelihood of black money being used during polls.
"...My speech ought to have been read from the aforesaid context. Corruption was the issue at the back of my mind; when I gave the speech. This should have lead to a public debate, on the accountability of the political parties, which are the constituents of democratic process," he said in his reply submitted to EC.
He said, "the entire speech needs to be read in toto. The central theme of my speech was Election Reforms and part being played by money power during, pre and post, Election process. I was not referring to the amounts spent by me personally or any other candidate, during the period of acceptance of nomination and the Election Result. I have made certain general statements, without any reference to particulars of expenses incurred as 'candidate' during the election process."
Munde was slapped an EC notice after he made an alleged statement in June that he spent Rs 8 crore during his 2009 Lok Sabha election. He today denied having said so and claimed that his statement be read in proper context.
