Rashtriya Samaj Party 'dupes' Shanmukhananda of Rs 9.4 lakh

A popular auditorium in the city, where political and cultural events are held, accused BJP ally Rashtriya Samaj Party today, of "duping" it to the tune of around Rs 10 lakh, during the recent assembly poll campaign in Maharashtra.
"To prepare its cadre for the recent Assembly elections, the Rashtriya Samaj Party booked the Sri Shanmukhananda Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Auditorium at King's Circle on August 11, 2014, between 2 pm and 6 pm, as well as issued a cheque for Rs 9,36,520 as deposit, hall rent and other services, in favour of the Shanmukhananda Sabha which runs the auditorium.
Payment was done through cheque number 016833 (dated July 28, 2014) of the Nagar Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd's Kashti Branch at Shrigonda taluka of Ahmednagar District.

On presentation, the cheque was returned with remarks "funds insufficient" vide bank memo of August 12, 2014.
"The cheque was represented on Rashtriya Samaj Party's instructions and was once again returned by the bank with the remark 'Account Closed'," a spokesperson for Shanmukhananda Sabha which runs the auditorium said.
"Rashtriya Samaj Party claims to be 'a party of national communities now moving towards political power'. On its website it claims to be 'the voice of the silent majority'. By closing its bank account, the party cannot evade its legal liability to pay. This show not merely its political bankruptcy but also its financial bankruptcy. The Sabha has issued a legal notice to recover its money. Rashtriya Samaj Party should be derecognised as a political party for its fraudulent ways," he said.

Headed by Mahadeo Jankar, Rashtriya Samaj Party became part of the Mahayuti (grand alliance) comprising the BJP, RPI (Athavale), Shivsangram and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana which fought the Assembly poll together.
"The whole thing must have been a terrible mistake. We are a reputed party. I will immediately look into the lapse and will ensure that the amount is paid to Shanmukhananda," Jankar told PTI.