Congress Asks BJP to Make UP, Punjab Election Expenses Public

New Delhi: Dubbing the demonetisation move as another "jumla" (gimmick) for political reasons, Congress on Saturday demanded that BJP make public all its expenses in upcoming polls in UP, Punjab and other states if it was serious about eliminating black money and corruption.

Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal also asked BJP to set up a commission of inquiry into all expenses made by it before 2014 Lok Sabha elections prior to Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister.

He also questioned the Prime Minister's absence from the country at a time when public is facing "harassment and inconvenience".

Sibal also termed the decision as one taken "in haste without proper planning" due to which people have been put to much hardships.

"Modiji should make a promise that whether it (polls) is in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab or anywhere else, for every meeting that takes place of BJP, there will be an expenditure account of the party irrespective of expenses on putting up tents and posters, bringing water tanks, all that is given by cheque.

Who gives the cheque whom it is given, all that should be put up on their websites," he said.

"Only then will we understand that he is serious about it and this is not an election jumla," he said.

Raising the demand for a probe on all poll expenses spent earlier, Sibal said, "I would suggest that Narendra Modi ji for all this strike on black money should set up a commission of inquiry with reference to all the money that was spent by the BJP before Mr Modi became the Prime Minister."

Sibal said when UPA was going to take a decision on demonetisation of currency of before 2005 in January 2014, the then BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi termed it as "anti-poor and a mockery with the poor people".

"BJP had completely opposed it (at that time). Is it not a mockery with the poor people now? It is also a jumla and nothing else," he said.

In an apparent reference to BJP's campaign during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, he alleged that a lot of "black money" went into the 2014 election campaign of the BJP.

"The kind of money that was spent (on election campaign), which was displayed on all the television channel, suggested, I cant say it is a proof, a lot of black money went into it...

"Unless there is a commission of inquiry for Mr Modi to investigate as to who was responsible... Because he is against all this (black money), he would not know because he was only delivering speeches," Sibal said.

"He was only making speeches, how would he know that so much of black money is being spent, If he is honest about it, he should set up a Commission of inquiry," the Congress leader said. .