Congress demands National Election Fund

NEW DELHI: Congress on Friday demanded the setting up of a National Election Fund to maintain a strict vigil on the money spent by recognised political parties on elections.
The demand for a national fund was raised on the back of a report by the Centre for Media Studies, which claimed BJP spent over Rs 27,000 crore of the total Rs 60,000 crore spent by political parties in the Lok Sabha polls.
“Funds will be allocated at the time of polls to recognised parties in accordance with criteria laid down by law,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said. Referring to the claims made by CMS, Singhvi said BJP spent over Rs 27,000 crore, which amounted to 45% of the total poll expenditure incurred by all parties.