Shillong, Dec 14 (PTI) TMC national spokesperson Saket Gokhale on Wednesday moved the Meghalaya High Court seeking legal action against the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) for allegedly not filing its election expenditure report within the mandatory 75 days of the 2018 Assembly polls.
He also prayed for action against the Election Commission (EC) for “failing” to enforce the rule which states that political parties are required to file their election expenditure reports with the Chief Electoral Officer of the state within that period.
The elections to the Meghalaya Assembly in 2018 were announced on January 31. While polling was conducted on February 27, votes were counted on March 3. The NPP formed the government with support from several parties including the BJP.
Stating that the last date for filing the election expenditure report was May 18, 2018, Gokhale claimed in the petition that the NPP has not filed it till date though the EC issued two notices to the party in that year.
Gokhale’s petition came a day after TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee held a party workers’ convention in Shillong to boost their morale ahead of the Assembly elections due early next year.
The Meghalaya government recently filed a criminal defamation suit against TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale for making “deliberate, derogatory and malicious” claims that a state-owned tourism firm misappropriated over Rs 630 crore funds.