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New Delhi, June 24
The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday disqualified senior Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra for filing wrong accounts of election expenditure.
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An EC spokesperson confirmed that Mishra had been disqualified for three years from Saturday.
His election from the Datia Assembly constituency also stands void.
Rajendra Bharti of the Congress had alleged that Mishra, a close aide of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, had not filed certain details in his election expenditure in the 2008 polls.
The EC had served notice to Mishra on January 15, 2013.
Mishra had moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court and the Supreme Court against the EC notice, but did not get any relief.
Finally, the EC came out with its verdict on Saturday.
Cong demands Mishra's resignation
Meanwhile, the Congress on Saturday demanded the resignation of Narottam Mishra.
“In view of the EC order, he should immediately resign from the Cabinet,” the Leader of Opposition, Ajay Singh, said.
“It has been proved how the BJP ministers are winning the polls,” Singh added.
Yadav, who is the state Congress president, claimed that the case against Mishra was related to paid news.
“MP Minister Narottam Mishra disqualified for three years by poll panel for paid news in elections. Big setback for BJP in MP,” All India Congress Committee (AICC) legal, human rights and RTI cell chairman and senior advocate Vivek Tankha said in a tweet.
The Aam Aadmi Party’s MP unit also demanded the resignation of the minister.
However, BJP chief spokesman Deepak Vijaywargiya said the party is studying the EC order and will comment only after that on the matter.
An officer close to the minister said that he is exploring legal options against the EC order.PTI
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