Income Discrepancies Emerge In AAP, Congress Candidates’ Lok Sabha Affidavits In Goa

Election overseer, Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) has uncovered discrepancies in the income tax details received from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress candidates in their nomination papers in the Panaji Assembly bypolls in Goa, reports Economic Times.

The bypolls which were made inevitable because of the then sitting MLA Manohar Parrikar's sudden demise. The ADR, in a release on Tuesday (7 May) claimed that the affidavits by AAP's Valmiki Naik for the 2017 state Assembly elections and the coming bypolls note a difference of over Rs 1 lakh in his I-T returns in the year 2015-2016.

In his Panaji bypoll affidavit, Naik had claimed his I-T returns as Rs 3,91,341 for the year 2015-2016, whereas in his 2017 file he had stated a figure of Rs 2,89,810 for the same duration, informed ADR.

The ADR also looked into the affidavit of Congress candidate, Atanasio Monserratte wherein he stated his I-T returns as 24,50,076 for the year 2015-2016, which was Rs 34,746 less than the figure which was given by him in the 2017 bypolls.

Monserratte's net worth fell by Rs 9 crore in the past two years when comparing his 2017 and 2019 affidavits. He had stated his I-T returns as Rs 1,69,84,756 for the year 2017-18. He had also claimed in his nomination form that he had Rs 33,33,822 cash in hand each (self and spouse).

The candidate for BJP from Panaji, Kunkolienkar is going against Monserratte who is now contesting from a Congress ticket. The bypoll is scheduled for 19 May.