Context
EC expresses “serious concern about the cursory manner in which the issue has been dealt with”
What has happened?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has turned down the Election Commission’s request to enhance the cash withdrawal limit for nominated candidates in the five poll-bound States, from ₹24,000 to ₹2 lakh per week, till the declaration of results on March 11 2017
Election Commission’s rationale
Covering election expenditure: Political candidates need money in order to cover election expenses. In the light of weekly withdrawal limit of Rs 24000, the maximum amount that can be withdrawn is Rs 96000 as elections will last for 3 to 4 weeks.
- Election expenditure limits: The statutory limit of expenditure in the poll bound states fixed by the Central government on February 28, 2014 is
- ₹28 lakh in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh
- ₹20 lakh in Manipur and Goa
