Cong on Jaswant issue: 'Violative of election law, fair play'

Condemning the alleged distribution of cash during an election meeting by senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh, the Congress today said it was “illegal, violative of election law and all norms of fair play”.

Condemning the alleged distribution of cash during an election meeting by senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh, the Congress on Wednesday said it was “illegal, violative of election law and all norms of fair play”.

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“We strongly condemn it ... The action is clearly illegal, violative of election law and all norms of fair play,” party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters in New Delhi.

She said Singh has not even cared to deny the act but sought to justify it.

“The action of distribution of money, carried out by him (Singh) and by Kailash Meghwal, national vice president of the BJP, was clearly with a view to bribe and influence the voters to vote for Manvendra Singh,” Natarajan said.

Dismissing Singh’s contention that it was a tradition in his family to help the poor, she said if this “ridiculous argument” was to be taken to its natural and logical conclusion, it would become legal for all candidates to distribute money as all contesting candidates would like to help the poor in their constituencies.

Asking the EC to take take action against Singh and BJP and also disqualify his son Manvendra from the contest, Natarajan said, the “BJP stands exposed in its constantly lowering standards of probity in public life and lack of respect for law and the model code of conduct”.