Banks not giving cash, Cong raises alarm before EC

CHANDIGARH: The Congress in Punjab has raised the alarm over “non-availability of sufficient cash” to meet poll expenditure before the Election Commission (EC). State Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh requested the EC to direct the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to relax the post-demonetisation limit on withdrawal of cash from banks and ATMs for candidates for “fair poll play”.

The Congress has already decided to raise demonetisation as a poll issue.

In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi, Amarinder said that, given the time constraints, the matter needed urgent attention of the EC and the RBI, to facilitate “fair play of democratic processes”.

“With the existing RBI norms allowing only Rs 24,000 withdrawal a week from savings account and Rs 1 lakh from current account, it is not possible for the candidates to defray their expenditure given the two weeks they would have for campaigning, from January 21 (when final list will be announced by EC after scrutiny of nominations) to February 2 (last date for electioneering),” he wrote in the letter. He pointed out that candidates in poll fray were expected to incur expenditure on their respective campaign as per the limits prescribed by the EC, and it requires proper maintenance of accounts. The EC has fixed Rs 28 lakh as limit of poll expenses.