The Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday said that they would fight legally against alleged concealment of a residential property by state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief and Nemom assembly candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar in his election affidavit. Kerala BJP Rajeev Chandrasekhar. (PTI)
The Congress on Monday had alleged that Chandrasekhar failed to disclose his 49,000 sq ft bungalow in Koramangala neighbourhood of Bengaluru in the affidavit he filed before the Election Commission of India (ECI). The party said that the BJP leader had listed it as his address in his affidavit during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and for which a property tax was paid recently.
However, on Tuesday, after Chandrasekhar’s nomination papers were accepted by the ECI, the Congress said it would legally challenge it.
KS Sabarinadhan, the Congress candidate in Nemom, told reporters, “The returning officer is a quasi-judicial authority and lacks the jurisdiction to decide on such issues. So we plan to take it forward through appropriate legal means.”
“We are not against Chandrasekhar earning crores of rupees or owning several cars or houses. But he must properly declare them in his election affidavit. We are all sharing our assets transparently,” he added.
V Sivankutty, the CPI(M) candidate in Nemom, also announced that his party would initiate legal measures against Chandrasekhar in this regard.
“The non-disclosure of properties worth crores of rupees in the affidavit submitted by the candidate amounts to a serious betrayal of voters,” he said.
However, Chandrasekhar termed the allegations of the Congress as “100% false.”
“This is not a new allegation. During the time of every election, they come up with such allegations. Whenever Congress is about to lose an election, they come up with these new narratives. Between 2008 and 2018, the Congress attacked me several times and even ordered raids on me. They can go to court if they want,” he said.