OP Rawat on Demonetisation: Ex Chief Election Commissioner Says 'Move Failed to Control Black Money'

New Delhi, December 03: Former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat on Monday took a jibe at Narendra Modi-led central government over demonetisation. Rawat said, “After demonetisation, it was thought that misuse of money during an election would be brought down. But it couldn't be proved on the basis of the data of the seizures. Compared to previous elections, there were more seizures in the same states.” The former chief election commissioner also raised questions on political parties. He said, “It seems political class and their financiers have no dearth of money. Money used in this manner, is generally black money. As far as black money used in the election is concerned, there was no check on it.”

Earlier, in an interview to The Indian Express on Saturday, Rawat hit out at political parties over the use of the money during elections. He said that the poll panel seized a “record amount” of money during elections. Rawat also claimed that influential sources which support political parties during elections were not affected by such moves. Assembly Elections 2018 Full Schedule: Check Voting & Result Dates of Rajasthan, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh & Mizoram.

Yesterday, Sunil Arora took charge as the new CEC. The newly appointed CEC succeeds OP Rawat, who demitted office on Saturday. Arora was appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner by President Ram Nath Kovind recently. With the change in authority, the Election Commission will now hold the 2019 general election under Arora. The appointment of the new CEC comes at a time when the Election Commission is in the midst of conducting assembly elections in five states comprising Rajasthan, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 03, 2018 11:41 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).