Srinagar: The election authority has issued a notice to MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, regarding an alleged disparity in his election expenditure report for the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency.
The notice states that Rashid's reported expenditure was Rs 2.10 lakh, whereas the amount recorded in the shadow register maintained by observers was Rs 13.78 lakh.
The notice requires Rashid or a representative to appear before the district expenditure monitoring committee within two days to address this discrepancy.
“Ensure timely submission of the expenditure report to the Election Commission of India. A failure to comply with election expense reporting requirements could lead to disqualification by the Election Commission under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, for a period of three years, the notice reads.
Rashid, incarcerated in Delhi’s Tihar Jail following his arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2019 on alleged militancy funding charges, has been granted a two-hour custody parole to take oath as a Lok Sabha member on July 5. He had sought interim bail or custody parole to fulfil his parliamentary duties.