Availed 4 Lakh-cr loan from World Bank: TN candidate

Rupees 1.76 lakh crore in cash and Rs 4 lakh crore loan availed from World Bank.

They are not just mind-boggling numbers but are actually part of the election affidavit filed by the candidate of a little-known political party in Tamil Nadu for the by-election to Perambur assembly constituency in Chennai.

The Election Commission not just overlooked the glaring discrepancies in the affidavit but also accepted the nomination and allotted 'green chilli’ symbol to the candidate from Jebamani Janatha Party, J Mohanraj, a retired police officer.

In the affidavit accessed by DH, Mohanraj has declared that he possesses cash of Rs 1.76 lakh crore in hand and has availed loan of Rs 4 lakh crore from the World Bank. The affidavit, which has been endorsed by V Arivazhakan, Notary Public, in Chennai has been “blindly” accepted by the Election Commission, which makes mockery of its scrutiny process.

Rupees 1.76 lakh crore is the same figure quoted as presumptive loss in 2G spectrum allocation by the then CAG Vinod Rai in 2010.

The glaring discrepancy was noticed by Arapor Iyakkam, an NGO fighting for transparency in Tamil Nadu, which tweeted a photocopy of the affidavit and raised questions about the efficiency of the Election Commission.

“Our organisation has been raising doubts about the scrutiny procedure adopted by the Election Commission. None of our concerns have so far been addressed by the EC,” Jayaram Venkatesan of the NGO told DH. He sought to know when the EC does not even check or cross-verify details mentioned in the affidavit of the candidate of a little-known party, how does one expect them to raise questions about the nomination papers of powerful politicians.

“There have been glaring discrepancies in affidavits filed by several leaders in the past. Despite us complaining, the EC only looks into whether the candidates have filled the columns,” he said.

EC not serious

Though EC officials were unavailable for comment, Mohanraj said he “deliberately declared” the assets to “expose the Election Commission” which is not serious in scrutinising the nominations. “I pointed out discrepancies in the election affidavit of Karti Chidambaram in 2014 but the EC did not care to seek clarification from him. So, I made false declarations this time only to expose EC,” he claimed.

Mohanraj also claimed that he cannot be tried for criminal offence since declaring false information is a “civil offence” according to new rules.