Manohar Parrikar for audit of electoral officials' poll expense claim

According to Manohar Parrikar, the officials had hired the vehicles in addition to several vehicles already taken from various departments for the election duty.

Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has recommended an audit of the reimbursement claim of Rs 16.86 crore raised by the state electoral officers against the expenditure incurred by them during the Assembly elections held in February.

Parrikar on Tuesday ordered setting up of a team of chartered accountants to audit the "seemingly exorbitant" bill submitted to the government by the officials concerned who are attached to the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer.

"I have asked formation of a team of CAs to audit the reimbursement being claimed by the Goa Electoral Office. They have submitted a bill of Rs 16.86 crore towards hiring of vehicles for 15 days during the Assembly polls," he told reporters here.

"I have put remarks on the file seeking details of the vehicles and also recommended that a panel of chartered accountants should audit it," the chief minister said.

According to Parrikar, the officials had hired the vehicles in addition to several vehicles already taken from various departments for the election duty.

"If one goes by the bill submitted by the Electoral Office, the expenditure per constituency comes to the tune of Rs 50 lakh," he said.

Meanwhile, responding to a query on the notice issued to him by the Election Commission in February over his purported remarks advising bribery for votes during campaigning for the state assembly polls, Parrikar said his speech was wrongly translated by a translator.

"I have asked the ECI to let me know who translated the speech. It was wrongly translated. I had not asked voters to take bribe but had questioned them whether they would do so," he said.

Parrikar, who was holding Defence portfolio then, was served a fresh notice by the EC on February 7 seeking his reply on his reported bribery remarks, days after issuing a similar notice.

The poll body had rejected Parrikar's claims that his election speech in Goa made in Konkani was incorrectly translated.