LUCKNOW: In a bid to shoo away the hawala bugbear, Bharatiya Janata Party Leader Atal Behari Vajpayee opened a poll fund in a local bank here.
‘Aimed at introducing transparency in poll expenditure, the account opened with an impressive Rs 6.25 lakh by way of donations. While party workers from Maharashira contributed Rs 1.25 lakh, the local traders deposited Rs 5 lakh.
‘Taking utmost care to project a clean image in the wake of the damages done by the hawala scandal, Mr. Vajpayee hit up on the novel ides of a separate poll fund.
‘The alleged involvement of the party’s national president L.K. Advani in the hawala scam had indeed caused much embarrassment to the rank and file of the party which was all set to take up the issue of corruption as its main poll plank.
Political observers believe that fund is ‘also aimed at washing away the taint of the hawala, which is still fresh in the minds of the electorate.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 17, 1996
