Erode East bypoll | BJP’s accusation of ‘cash for votes’ discussion “edited”: E.V.K.S. Elangovan

Congress candidate for the Erode (East) Assembly byelection, E.V.K.S. Elangovan, has said he is not ready to answer Tamil Nadu State BJP president K. Annamalai, who has claimed that the former had held a discussion on cash for votes, with a DMK Minister.

Mr. Annamalai had on Monday, shared a video clip of an interaction between Municipal Administration Minister K.N. Nehru and Mr. Elangovan, claiming that both were discussing cash for votes in the upcoming byelection. The BJP State president, in a tweet, said that “DMK faces the election pinning their hopes on money power and they presume that anything can be bought with money”.

Asked about the video, Mr. Elangovan said, “I don’t know about it, but I am not ready to answer him.” The Congress candidate told media persons in Erode on Monday that he had expressed various opinions with various party alliances and that these were being “edited” and released on social media platforms. “I don’t mind it,” he said.

Mr. Elangovan said Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is working tirelessly and will fulfill all the promises [made by the DMK in its election manifesto], including giving cash assistance of ₹1,000 per month to women.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been blamed for the “massacre of minorities” in Gujarat and this was in a documentary made by the BBC, Mr. Elangovan said, referring to the banned documentary, India: The Modi Question.

“Our leader Rahul Gandhi had also pointed out the irregularities in the Adani Group of Companies and an American company has investigated and published a report [on this],” the former Union Minister added, referring to investment research firm Hidenberg’s recent allegations against the Adani Group.