Mishra has constantly denied the allegation against him for incurring or authorising the expenditure on publication on the alleged news item.
The Election Commission in its order dated June 23, 2017 said that Narottam Mihsra had not only knowingly submitted a false account of the expense, but also attempted to circumvent the legally prescribed limit on expenditure. He now handles the Public Relations Department.
The Commission, which on Friday also said that Mishra would remain disqualified from contesting election for three years, said it was concerned about the "menace of paid news" which has been assuming "alarming proportions" in the electoral landscape.
The Election Commission has ordered the disqualification of Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra for having filed wrong account of his poll expenditure during the 2008 assembly election in the state.
North Korea Defends Otto Warmbier's Treatment
Otto Warmbier died days after his release from North Korea. "I was just so happy to see the kid released", Rodman said. Warmbier, 22, died in a U.S. hospital after North Korea released him for "humanitarian reasons".
With this ruling, Mishra, who is now Water Resources, Public Relations, Parliamentary Affairs minister won't be able to contest the next Assembly elections in MP scheduled for December 2018. Some opposition leaders even said that the disqualification shows how BJP politicians are winning the elections. My lawyer is studying the order.
An officer close to the minister said that he is exploring legal options against the EC order.
Considered as number two in the state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Mr Mishra is Water Resources and Legislative Affairs minister and also holds charge of the Public Relations Department. He was elected to assembly again in 1998 and 2003, and inducted as minister for the first time in the then chief minister Babulal Gaur's cabinet in 2005.
The EC decision came following a complaint by former Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti in April 2009 alleging that Mishra had paid for news without accounting for it in his expenses in 2008. It took the national poll panel another almost five more years to arrive at a decision against the guilty BJP minister.
Comments