BHOPAL: The Election Commission wanted a CBI probe after I-T sleuths had raided the official and residential premises of former chief minister Kamal Nath and those of his colleagues in April last year.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes informed the Election Commission the black money that the I-T sleuths laid their hands on was used in the elections.
After that, the commission had written to the Department of Personal and Training that there should be a CBI probe into the case.
The central probe agency, however, refused to take up the matter. After CBI’s refusal, the commission had written to the chief electoral officer to get it probed by the Economic Offences Wing.
In the letter, the commission mentioned that the politicians and officers had collected dough from various departments.
The money was sent to the candidates for elections. The dealings came to light from the diaries, laptops and whatsapp chats confiscated during I-T raids.
A list of 11 Congress candidates for the Lok Sabha elections was also ferreted out. The money collected through illegal means was transferred to the party candidates.
Apart from that, a list of 14 candidates was found. Money was given to those candidates for the Vidhan Sabha elections. The names of 11 departments figured in the raids. The commission wants to get it probed by EOW so that money collected from various departments may come to light. Action during polls comes under EC’s right: Rawat
Former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat has said the prerogative of the commission ends with the end of elections.
Nevertheless, if the commission has written for any action during the elections, it can correspond about it with the government for further action, he said.
Therefore, in the present case, if the commission had written a latter during elections, it can again send one to the government for further action, he added
