Words translated wrongly: Manohar Parrikar tells Election Commission

NEW DELHI: Defence minister Manohar Parrikar has said that the election commission (EC) had wrongly translated his speech even while asking the poll watchdog to view the video in question in his presence. Parrikar’s reply was in response to an EC notice over his alleged bribery remarks during the Goa assembly poll campaign. In its notice on February 3 to remarks Parrikar had made in Konkani, EC said they amounted to “abetting and promoting electoral offence of bribery”. The allegation was that the minister asked voters to accept money Rs 2000 from other political parties but vote for the BJP. Parrikar in his reply said that his words were mistranslated and that he only asked voters why they should support candidates who offer money when the government itself was giving them benefits through various schemes. “I wish to cross examine the three-member committee through my advocate and expose the falsehood before the honourable Election Commission of India,” the minister’s reply said. “For anyone who understands the fundamentals of Konkani, it should not be difficult (to realise the meaning)” the minister said. Insisting that the literal translation of his speech was incorrect, Parrikar said that the real message conveyed in the speech was that one should “vote for a good government rather than going for exercising franchise by receiving paltry consideration of an extraneous nature.” He has asked that the video of his speech be screened in his presence and for discharge of the two notices sent to him.