EC asks CBDT to verify Rajeev Chandrasekhar's poll affidavit details

The Election Commission on Tuesday, 9 April, directed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to verify any mismatch in affidavit details submitted by Union minister and BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat Rajeev Chandrasekhar, sources said.

The Congress had moved the poll panel claiming a mismatch in actual and declared assets in the affidavit filed by Chandrasekhar, who is in the fray against former UN diplomat Shashi Tharoor.

According to procedure, the EC has directed the CBDT to verify any mismatch in affidavit details submitted by Chandrasekhar, the sources said.

Any mismatch and falsification of affidavit is dealt with under Section 125 A of the Representation of the People Act 1951, they said.

As per the law, concealing any information in nomination papers or affidavit is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with a fine, or both.

The Ernakulam Central Police on 31 October 2023 registered a case against Chandrasekhar over a social media post on the Kerala blasts, after a few complaints came up against him. Among those who raised the complaints was the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee.

The complaint was on his reaction on social media soon after the Kochi blasts took place on 29 October at a congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses which left three dead and around three dozen people injured.