Anto Antony admits of receiving money; amount given to election fund by N M Raju

PATHANAMTHITTA: Pathanamthitta MP Anto Antony stepped forward responding to the allegations of N M Raju, the owner of Nedumparampil Credit Syndicate and leader of the Kerala Congress (M), that he borrowed money for election campaigns and did not return it. Raju has helped me. He was a UDF leader at that time. No Congress candidate can survive without receiving such help during election time. The reason is that the Congress has no money, he told media.

'Raju had helped me. He asked the money back two months after the election. Returned the money. He has helped not only me but also the CPM. I don’t know about the 2 crores. If Raju has any allegations due to pressure from the Left Front, let him file a legal case.

False propaganda will not take him anywhere. Many have helped in all elections. Accepted money from Raju as a help during election time. Gave the account of the money received and has given an accurate account to the election commission. ‘What we have seen here is a pathetic failure of creating a smokescreen by falsely accusing someone of having invested in some other firm, mistakenly believing that my name was attached to this firm,’ said Anto Antony.

N M Raju alleged that Anto Antony had borrowed Rs 2 crore for election campaigns on the promise of giving it within two months, but even after seven years, he had only given Rs 20 lakh.