Tamil Nadu bypoll candidate declares assets worth Rs 1.76 lakh crore, Rs 4 lakh crore debt

A candidate for the upcoming Tamil Nadu bypolls declared 1.76 lakh crore cash in hand and debt of Rs 4 lakh crore in his affidavit. Had this been true, he would be the wealthiest candidate in the country has ever seen. But the figures are actually a sarcastic reference to the notional value of the 2G spectrum case and the debt Tamil Nadu owes to the World Bank.

It was a false declaration deliberately filed by J Mohanraj of Jebamani Janata Party (JJP) for the by-election to the Perambur assembly segment. A copy of Mohanraj's affidavit has been uploaded on the Election Commission's website. The motive behind such a move was to draw attention to loopholes in Election Commission's screening process of the mandatory declaration and botched up investigation in the 2G scam, PTI reported.

Mohanraj is a 67-year-old retired police inspector and son of freedom fighter Jebamani. Talking to PTI, he alleged that the 2G spectrum case was not properly probed and it was his attempt to draw the attention to this aspect.

On his declaration of Rs 4 lakh crore debt, Mohanraj said that it was a pointer to the Tamil Nadu governmen's 'administrative inefficiency' which resulted in a huge debt burden to the tune of about Rs four lakh crore. In the 2019-20 budget, the Tamil Nadu government had said the outstanding debt by the end of March 2020 will be Rs 3,97,495.96 crore. In his affidavit, Mohanraj mentioned that he owes the amount to the World Bank.

Even during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Mohanraj had falsely declared Rs 1,977 crore as his deposits south Chennai, said he chose to present a fake declaration for one more purpose. On the question as to whether any action was taken against him for making such a declaration in 2009, he said that not even a notice was issued.

"You can declare whatever you want in the affidavit. The Election Commission will do nothing," he claimed and demanded that false declarations be made a criminal offence.

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