President’s son defends Rs1 crore seized from party men

Two days after Rs1 crore in cash was seized by the police from an official Congress Party car in Amravati district of Maharashtra, Indian President Pratibha Patil's son Rajendra 'Raosaheb' Shekhawat, the state assembly member from the district, tried to save face today by saying the money was meant for distribution among financially weak candidates for the local civic polls on 16 February.

The state election commission has taken a serious view of the matter and called for a report from the municipal commissioner and the district collector. The Congress has submitted in writing that the money was meant for its candidates.

Two men were arrested on Monday with the money, and have reportedly said that it was meant for the Congress' poll expenditure. They were released on Tuesday.

Speaking to sections of the media from Amravati, Shekhawat said, ''We had asked the party - that is, the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee - to give us funds for the candidates.

''With the 50 per cent quota for women, many new faces have entered the poll fray. These are housewives and social workers from poor or economically weak sections. We have also put up many young candidates who are not financially sound.''

Shekhawat said the party had issued a letter stating that Rs1 lakh would be given for each candidate. However, there was no one to collect the letter from the Mumbai office. The cash was seized while the letter was still lying in the office, he claimed.