Parrikar must reply to EC notice: CPI

New Delhi[India], Feb. 8: Communist Party of India(CPI) leader D. Raja on Wednesday urged that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar must respond to the notice sent to him by the Election Commission over his bribe remark during a public rally in Goa and sought his reply by February 9.

"Parrikar must reply to notice issued to him by Election Commission within stipulated time. If not then it is up to election commission how to deal with such matter. I hope Parrikar, as a responsible minister in the Union Government, will take whatever notice sent to him seriously and Election Commission has to be respected," he said.

Overruling claims of Parrikar that his election speech in Goa made in Konkani was incorrectly translated; the Election Commission had served him with a fresh notice on his reported bribery remarks and asked him to respond by Thursday.

"The CD hasn't been tampered in any manner; asked him file his final reply by February 9," said the poll panel.

The poll panel earlier on February 2 issued notice to Parrikar after it took cognizance of the complaints from the Goa Forward Party and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal.

The commission has alleged that Parrikar deliberately and intentionally instigated the public to take bribe for voting and abetted the offence during the electoral process.

The Defence Minister made the statements in question at Chimbel on January 29, in which he purportedly said he had no problem with people accepting money from other parties to attend their rallies, but they should vote for "lotus".

The Goa Forward Party's complaint alleged that Parrikar said while someone would give Rs.1,000 or Rs.3,000, "we will give Rs.1,500 every month".

Source: ANI