According to a rough estimate, all the political parties put together might have spent not less than Rs 1,000 crore in the Council polls that was held on Friday. With this, this polls proved to be the costliest elections in the entire nation.

Addressing a news conference here, he said the absence of election code of conduct became handy for all the parties to ‘buy’ votes by offering costly gifts. In the process even fake gold rings have been distributed to some voters.

Unfortunately all the political parties have corrupted the election system and the biggest culprit is the BJP. In the name of ‘Operation Kamala’ the BJP virtually converted elected representatives into commodities and bought them just to strengthen their base statewide. The State Election Commission did not do anything to check the election malpractices and remained a mute spectator to all the happenings.

Vishwanath said such a situation should not have come for the Legislative Council, the august House that returned many bills pertaining to various issues to the State Assembly. The politics had stooped to the extent of collecting money even to distribute the ‘B’ form. Seeing the flow of money in the recent Council polls it is proved that honest and upright citizens cannot contest the elections any longer. People with money power can contest and win the polls. Need of the hour was to set right the system failing which the very purpose of elections would be defeated in the State. While the BJP started the ‘Operation Kamala’, the Janata Dal (Secular) begun the ‘resort’ politics which were detrimental for the society at large, he bemoaned.

The MP said Union Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned Rs 25 crore for Kaginele Development Authority out of which Rs 5 crore had already been released. The State government had also released Rs 1.75 crore for the authority in order to promote eco-tourism. The money would be spent on the construction of Universal International Centre of all social reformers.