Gautam gives EC black money ‘proof’

The minister,who is contesting from Dum Dum in North 24-Parganas and his fate will be decided by the electorate in Wednesday voting,also tried to put the Election Commission in the dock.

At a press meet,which was held after his meeting with the CEO,Dev said the Election Commission should have suo motu probed into the allegations and reports in media that Trinamool was financing its poll campaign by using the black money.

“It is the duty of the Election Commission to trace the black money used by any political party,and it should have held an inquiry on the basis of the media reports. There are precedents of such inquiries,’’ Dev said.

On Arpil 16,Dev had lodged a complaint with the CEO alleging that the Trinamool had distributed Rs 33.90 crore among its candidates ahead of the polls.

The minister has also sought an appointment with Chief Election Commissioner S Y Qureshi,who is scheduled to visit the state on April 28 to review the poll-preparedness for the remaining phases.

Meanwhile,CEO Gupta said that it was Income Tax Department’s job to trace the the source of the money used by the poll party for campaigning purposes and not of the Election Commission.

“The Election Commission monitors the expenditure of the candidate,and it is not their job to find out the source of the money. If there is any such complaint,the I-T department will conduct the probe,’’ said Gupta.