Amit Shah 'undervalued' assets in poll affidavit, Congress demands EC to disqualify him

The Congress party has moved to the Election Commission seeking BJP president Amit Shah’s disqualification from contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Gandhinagar, alleging wilful non-disclosure of liabilities. In its complaint filed before the poll body, the Congress claimed that the BJP president filed "false affidavit" with two glaring omissions.

"First, with regard to a plot in Gandhinagar and second, with regard to loans taken from a commercial bank by his son for which he is the guarantor," the Congress party said in its complaint filed before the Election Commission.

The Congress party alleged that Shah mortgaged two of his properties for his son Jay Shah’s company before filing his nomination for the Lok Sabha polls from Gujarat’s Gandhinagar.

"The properties were mortgaged in lieu of a large and substantial loan of Rs 25 crore extended by the bank to his son’s company. It is, therefore, a fact that the properties are mortgaged to Kalupur Commercial Cooperative Bank and hence constitute a liability that should have been declared," the party said, according to news agency IANS.

Claiming that the omission of liabilities was "deliberate and not inadvertent", the Congress demanded the poll body to initiate proceedings against Amit Shah for filing a "false affidavit".

"The Election Commission of India must take immediate note of this and initiate appropriate proceedings to disqualify Amit Shah from contesting the upcoming elections. Further, the ECI must initiate proceedings against Amit Shah for the filing of a false affidavit," the complaint read.